After the assassination of the decapitated history professor in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine on Friday, the teachers are in shock.
In the "Journal du Dimanche", Prime Minister Jean Castex addressed them and defended the freedom of expression, conscience, to teach and to study, or not, cartoons in class.
Two days after the death of teacher Samuel Paty, brutally murdered in front of a college in Yvelines, Prime Minister Jean Castex addressed the teachers in the columns of the
Journal du Dimanche
.
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"The whole country is behind them"
He first sent them a "message of absolute support and solidarity".
"I want the teachers to know that, in the face of this despicable act, the whole country is behind them. […] Through this teacher, it is the Republic that has been attacked. Once again, it is freedom to expression, freedom of conscience, freedom to teach, which are the basis of our republican pact, which have been targeted. But Islamist terrorism will never win because freedom and conscience will always be stronger ", continues the Prime Minister. minister who met on Saturday the representatives of the educational community with the Minister of Education Jean-Michel Blanquer.
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Asked about the measures to be put in place to better protect teachers, Jean Castex said he had met Gérald Darmanin, the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of National Education and the Minister of Seals Eric Dupond-Moretti to "determine a an even stronger, faster and more effective response strategy when a teacher is subjected to threats, even insidious ", without giving more details on the content of the exchanges.
Give teachers their freedom
As for the question of studying caricatures of Muhammad in class, the Prime Minister says he wants to give teachers their freedom.
"These cartoons are now an integral part of our history. Whether they are discussed in class or not, it is for the teachers to decide and not for the Prime Minister to judge. But what is certain is that those who pass on knowledge to our children must remain free to do so. This freedom is not negotiable, "he explains.
The Prime Minister also indicated that he did not rule out completing the bill on separatism, which is due to be presented in December to the Council of Ministers.