On Monday, France paid tribute to the teacher killed by a radicalized ex-student in the north of the country and to Professor Samuel Paty, who was murdered three years ago. President Emmanuel Macron calls for “ruthlessness” in the face of terrorist ideology.
Three days after the death of Dominique Bernard, a French teacher who was stabbed outside a middle school in Arras, the head of state promised that the school would remain a “bulwark against obscurantism” and a “sanctuary” for students and teachers.
According to the president, the tribute paid to Mr. Bernard on Monday, against the backdrop of increased security measures in France in the face of the terrorist threat, “tragically recalls the murder” of another professor, Samuel Paty, who was beheaded there on the very day Years ago, he was condemned by an Islamist in a Paris suburb after showing cartoons of Mohammed in class.
On Monday, a minute’s silence will be observed in her memory at 2 p.m. (12 p.m. GMT) in all schools in France and the resumption of classes in secondary schools and colleges has been postponed until 10 a.m. to allow time for exchanges between students and teachers .
“One of them was killed, murdered,” emphasized French Education Minister Gabriel Attal on Sunday. “Together they will find the right words to address their students and answer their questions,” he added, assuring that “no argument” and “no provocation” will be tolerated in this honor.
The knife attack in Arras, which also injured three people and was carried out by a Russian-born 20-year-old accused of Islamist radicalization, has caused renewed fear and astonishment in the country, especially among teachers, some of whom fear returning have class.
Radicalization files
Before the tribute began, Emmanuel Macron called on his ministers to “embody a ruthless state towards all those who spread hate and terrorist ideologies,” an adviser to the president told reporters on Monday.
The government has therefore ordered a “thorough” review of the situation of all foreigners listed as deportable due to Islamist radicalization. The aim is to “ensure that all radicalized people who can be expelled are expelled, or to speed up the procedures” and “to check again that there is no control and that we have carried out the procedure to the maximum.” , declared the French Presidency.
Arras attacker Mohammed Mogouchkov, a native of the Federal Republic of Ingushetia, had “S” status for state security and was recently pursued by the domestic intelligence service (DGSI). His father was deported in 2018 for radicalization and his older brother is imprisoned for his involvement in a planned attack on the Élysée.
In 2014, deportation proceedings were initiated against the attacker’s family, which were ultimately discontinued.
“fear-inducing”
Following the attack on Arras and facing the risk of spreading the war between Israel and Hamas to France, France was put on alert on Friday and plans to deploy 7,000 troops to its territory.
The Minister of National Education, who called for security measures to be strengthened around all facilities, also announced the deployment of 1,000 security personnel from the ministry.
“It is the violent context that concerns me for my sixth grade students,” explained Marie Travert, a mathematics teacher at a college in Betton, near Rennes (west of France).
“We also need to conduct attack drills at school this week and talk again about what happened to Samuel Paty. It’s pretty scary,” she adds.
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin called for the “systematic expulsion of all foreigners classified as dangerous by the secret services (…)” and spoke of a possible “connection” between the attack and the devastating conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Since his arrest, attacker Mohammed Mogouchkov, who witnesses said allegedly shouted “Allah Akbar”, “has not spoken”, a police source told AFP. Eight other people were still in custody on Sunday.
Gabriel Attal specified that “this student and even his siblings have been the subject of reports from teachers for several years”.