Students in France paid tribute to Professor Samuel Paty, murdered for showing cartoons in a course on freedom of expression.
Europe 1 was in a college in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, alongside the students and the teaching team for this highly respected moment of contemplation.
REPORTAGE
This Monday, 12 million students returned to their schools in a confined France and still marked by the death of Samuel Paty.
A minute's silence took place at 11 a.m., followed by a time of meditation for the students, in tribute to the History-Geography teacher, murdered for showing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in class.
Europe 1 was alongside college students from Lucie and Raymond Aubrac, in the 11th arrondissement of Paris.
The minute's silence was well respected.
The students were very moved, some collected, hands crossed in front of the black and white photographs of Professor Samuel Paty, displayed on the walls of the college courtyard.
Parents of students were also present.
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To introduce this minute of silence, the principal of the college Christine Mengin first read, as in all schools, the letter to teachers, written by Jean Jaurès in 1888. "You hold your intelligence and knowledge in your hands. 'soul of children,' she declaimed.
The academic director Marc Teulier then came specifically to send the students a Republican message.
"By assassinating Samuel Paty, a professor of History-Geography, we violated one of the fundamental principles of our Republic, that which is called secularism. It is the right in France to believe in religion that you have chosen. "
Civic and moral education provided by pairs
A message all the more important as the educational sequence that was to take place was finally deleted, in the context of safety and health.
Only the head teacher was able to say a few words to the visibly touched students.
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"It was moving. It is important to commemorate his death and I find it necessary to have a minute of silence", confides one of the students.
"We are in France, there are rights. We can talk to each other, if we don't agree we don't have to kill people, just because they are doing their job", adds one of his friends.
"A minute of silence is not enough, I think we could have done more. It could have happened to anyone, even in our college", continues a young girl.
The principal of the college has already planned throughout the month of November a civic and moral education in pairs, provided by a professor of History-Geography and a professor of another voluntary discipline.