In the spotlight: national tribute and concern, one year after the assassination of Samuel Paty

Audio 03:59

Friday, October 15, 2021, the French daily Le Figaro devotes its front page to Samuel Paty, one year after his assassination.

© Le Figaro

By: Norbert Navarro

3 min

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Professor Samuel Paty was beheaded by an Islamist at the end of his college in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, near Paris, on October 16, 2020. A year later, the aftershocks of this earthquake are felt in public opinion. 

According to an Odoxa poll for

Le Figaro

, 84% of French people assure that, since the assassination of Samuel Paty, communitarianism at school "

 has not regressed";

85% believe that the terrorist threat in France is "

 high 

";

and three out of four French people believe that in France, over the past five years, we are "

 less free than before to criticize religions"

.

Aftershocks also in young people, where the discomfort remains palpable

According to an Ifop poll for

Marianne

magazine

, 58% of young French people aged 18-30 consider that Samuel Paty was right to show caricatures of Muhammad in the name of freedom of expression, while 22% consider that he was wrong because it was, according to them, an unnecessary provocation and 14% are convinced that showing these cartoons in class is an initiative which “is 

in fact an Islamophobic approach

 ”.

This survey indicates that three out of four young French people think that we talk too much about religion and religious issues today, or that 57% of them find that the defense of secularism is often instrumentalized by political figures and politicians. journalists who want to denigrate Muslims.

A year after the assassination of Samuel Paty, the calls for firmness are displayed loud and clear 

“ 

It is not enough to remember, it is necessary to act

, thus enjoins

Le Figaro

(…)

It is not enough to commemorate, it is necessary to change mentalities

 ”.

But this daily wonders if it is possible, " 

when the slogan of the National Education has long been

"

not to make waves "

 "?

Underlining what this newspaper denounces as a "

 capitulation

 ",

Le Figaro

deplores that Samuel Paty was " 

little supported by his hierarchy when the tension began to rise in the establishment

 ". Reason why " 

it is not enough to legislate, we must repress those who spit on France, its history and its rules, he

claims (because)

fear in the stomach, many teachers still confide, today, prefer to be silent than to defend freedom of expression. Many will not pay homage to their late colleague.

"

But"

 in the face of obscurantism, reality commands us to remain uncompromising (…) As long as we flout timid laws, we will play the enemy's game 

”, lumberjack Le Figaro.

Very violent armed clashes spread terror yesterday in Beirut

The specter of civil war threatens Lebanon again.

Shootings have left at least six dead in Beirut on the sidelines of a demonstration organized by the Shiite movements Hezbollah and Amal against the judge in charge of the investigation into the explosion in the port of Beirut.

Dull sounds of rocket fire, bursts of automatic weapons and ambulances with screaming sirens

 ", the daily

La Croix

sets the scene.

It was the apocalypse,

 " said a resident of the Lebanese capital to

Le Figaro

.

Which newspaper underlines that Hezbollah and Lebanese Forces " 

reject the responsibility for the clashes

 ".

In

Le Figaro

, a local expert explains that " 

tensions are growing between the Shiite community and its main representative, Hezbollah, and, on the other hand, other Lebanese communities

".

Like an air of deja vu in Lebanon ...

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