Gérald Darmanin announced Thursday that he had offered "close protection" to the professor of philosophy at Trappes who indicated that he had been the subject of threats since he defended the murdered teacher Samuel Paty.

The teacher accepted the offer and indicated that he was leaving teaching.

For his part, the prefect of Yvelines denounces remarks stigmatizing the inhabitants of the city.

The Minister of the Interior, Gerald Darmanin, announced Thursday that he had offered "close protection" to the professor of philosophy of Trappes who indicated that he had been the subject of threats since he defended the murdered teacher Samuel Paty in a letter opened.

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"Didier Lemaire had benefited for several days from the protection of the Yvelines police services. I offered him this afternoon (Thursday) to also benefit from close protection," announced Gérald Darmanin in a tweet.

This protection will be provided by the Protection Service (SDLP), responsible for the protection of leaders and threatened personalities, said the Interior Ministry. 

Didier Lemaire deplores "the lack of state strategy to defeat Islamism"

Didier Lemaire, who accepted this proposal, explained that he was going to "quit teaching, but not necessarily National Education".

"It all depends on the mission that could be entrusted to me," he said.

An investigation was opened last month for "threats to a person charged with a public service mission" after "concerns about Professor [Didier Lemaire] against whom threats were allegedly made" were reported at the Versailles parquet.

For a week, Didier Lemaire has been explaining in the media that he has been the subject of threats since his open letter of November 1 in which he denounces "the lack of a state strategy to defeat Islamism".

"Philosophy professor at Trappes for twenty years, I have witnessed the progress of an ever stronger community hold on consciences and bodies", he writes in particular in this text. 

The mayor of Trappes denounces "lies" and "untruths"

For the prefect of Yvelines, Jean-Jacques Brot, these words "stigmatize the 32,000 inhabitants of this city who, for the vast majority of them, are attached to republican values".

As for the Génération.s mayor of the city, Ali Rabeh, he denounced "lies" and "untruths", explaining in particular that Mr. Lemaire had "never been the subject of a serious threat".