Didier Lemaire during an interview on France 3 (screenshot) -

France Ile-de-France / screenshot

  • The philosophy professor has taken a stand in the media against the rise of Islamism in schools.

  • Didier Lemaire has since claimed to be the target of "hateful" comments.

    He has indicated that he plans to stop teaching.

  • No serious threat has so far been detected by the police, both on social networks and physically.

Almost four months after the assassination of Samuel Paty, this history and geography professor killed after showing his students caricatures of Mohammed from

Charlie Hebdo

, Gérald Darmanin offered Thursday to another teacher, Didier Lemaire, protection close.

This professor of philosophy from Trappes, in Yvelines, claims to be the target of "hateful" remarks since his media stances on Islamism in schools.

20 Minutes looks

back on the genesis of this affair.

Originally: A column in "L'Obs" on November 1st

It all began the day after the start of the All Saints holidays: less than 15 days after the death of Samuel Paty, Didier Lemaire, who has been teaching for twenty years in Trappes, in the Yvelines, published in

L'Obs

a column in which he says he has witnessed "the progress of an ever stronger community influence."

"How to teach languages, arts, sciences and general culture to children who are subjected, from an early age, to the phenomenal social pressure of these ideologues?

Should we continue to act as if our students are not themselves under this pressure?

He wonders.

His positioning is not new: in a letter addressed to Emmanuel Macron in 2018, he was already sorry for the lack of a clear strategy to fight against political Islamism.

After the death of Samuel Paty, this fervent defender of secularism is regularly invited on television sets, takes strong positions.

Positions, he assures, which earn him threats.

At the microphone of Sud Radio, he evokes "slanderous" words and "threats" which circulate both in Trappes and on social networks.

From preventive measures to close protection

Didier Lemaire is then received - at his request - by the services in charge of security within the Academy of Versailles.

In a press release published last week, it specifies that the teacher's situation was "taken very seriously" and that a report was made to the police station of Trappes and the prefecture of Yvelines.

As of November 2020, an order is then given to increase patrols around the establishment where he teaches but also in front of his home.

According to our information, it was above all a “preventive” device, given the context linked to the assassination of Samuel Paty.

No serious threat has indeed been detected, both on social networks and physically.

The affair takes a new turn after an interview given on January 22 to Dutch television in which he affirms that "Salafism in Trappes is really gaining ground".

Subsequently, Didier Lemaire affirms in several media that the journalist collected several testimonies targeting him explicitly.

"A former parent of a student told a Dutch journalist that if I continued to talk about Islam and Trappes, I would be the next Samuel Paty," he says on Cnews.

Contacted by France Info, the latter refuted the existence of these threats.

In any case, these do not appear in his report.

On January 26, an investigation was nevertheless opened by the Versailles prosecutor's office for “threats to a person charged with a public service mission” and the investigations entrusted to the PJ.

It is within this framework that the Minister of the Interior indicated, Thursday, to have proposed to Didier Lemaire to make him benefit from close protection provided by the protection service (SDLP), responsible for ensuring the security of threatened personalities.

Offer accepted by the teacher.

A political turning point

Even beyond the security aspect, the Didier Lemaire affair has gradually taken a political turn.

Thursday, a towing operation was carried out by the mayor of Trappes, Ali Rabeh (Generation. S) within the school in which the professor of philosophy works.

"I do not accept the violent remarks made against you and the Trappists, writes the elected official in a" Message to the pupils ".

It is unbearable because it is unfair and it does not correspond to reality.

“An intrusion strongly condemned by the Minister of National Education but also by the colleagues of Didier Lemaire.

“Didier Lemaire exposed himself in a personal capacity to defend the hold of radicalism, hold of which we regularly perceive the echoes.

The sincerity of his commitment is beyond doubt for us, who have worked with him on a daily basis, ”write the teachers of the establishment in an open letter.

And to specify: "Political interventions only exacerbate tensions: those of our students who have a peaceful vision of a republican Islam find themselves under pressure.

The teacher nevertheless announced Thursday that he was going to stop teaching, without necessarily leaving National Education.

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  • Society

  • Paris