The day after the death of Samuel Paty, a history teacher brutally murdered and beheaded after showing caricatures of Mohammed to his students, Plantu reacted on Saturday to the microphone of Europe 1. The designer told how he intervened with children in schools to discuss freedom of expression with them.
INTERVIEW
Going to schools, "we've only been doing that for 15 years," Plantu said on Saturday on Europe 1. The day after the attack on a history teacher, beheaded a few days after showing caricatures of Muhammad during a course on freedom of expression, the designer explained the importance of continuing education to the youngest.
"Bring together Christian, Jewish and Muslim cartoonists"
This work on freedom of expression throughout the world begins when Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations invites several cartoonists, including Plantu, to New York.
"He brought us together Christian, Jewish and Muslim cartoonists."
With Kofi Annan, Plantu then founded "Cartooning for Peace", an international network of committed cartoonists who fight, with humor, for respect for cultures and freedoms.
Freedoms for which he intervenes in schools, accompanied by teachers, heads of establishments, he says.
"We find ourselves in front of students who take us to task, but it always ends well", he tells the microphone of Europe 1. "At the beginning, they have a priori, so I ask them what they think, and if they're not happy, I tell them 'well go ahead you can draw me' ", Plantu continues.
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"The richness of French culture"
"I tell them to tell me how far they want to go", adds the designer, who then says he has a discussion on what the words "Liberty; Equality; Fraternity" are.
Freedom, he explains, is the freedom to say a lot of things, the one that we try to share in schools.
As for fraternity, "it means that we are addressing brothers and sisters," Plantu continues.
"Once we understand that, we try to think about making sure to make drawings that irritate - because this is the richness of French culture - and at the same time, we remember that the guy or the girl who will receive the drawing is also my brother or my sister ".
A delicate articulation that Plantu illustrates by the example of Israeli and Palestinian cartoonists whom he has, in the past, already invited to exchange.
"In the end, the debate is the great success of the interview."
Also, for Plantu, it is obvious that we must continue to teach freedom of expression.
Even more, "we must defend cartoonists in the world".
But we must also continue to listen to children, "listen to their frustrations", he says.
"A lot of children tell their frustration badly, so I tell them to come and draw them, to help them highlight these frustrations, and to show them how far we can go."