Nicolas' suicide: Attal wants a "disciplinary procedure" for the former rector of Versailles

Europe 1 with AFP 19:34 p.m., November 07, 2023

The minister "hopes that the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against (the former) rector can be examined," the ministry said in a statement sent to AFP. The inspection mission into Nicolas' suicide investigated "the conditions under which a letter with deeply shocking terms could have been sent to this family. What emerges from the mission's work is that this letter, in these terms, should never have been addressed to this family, in this situation," the ministry added.

A letter criticized

This threatening letter was sent in May 2023 by the Versailles rectorate to the parents of Nicolas, a teenager who committed suicide in September in Poissy (Yvelines) after being a victim of bullying at school. "This standard letter has its origins in the procedure set up by the Academy of Versailles after the assassination of Samuel Paty to strengthen support for agents subject to threats, which has made it possible to greatly reduce the processing time of requests for functional protection, from four to one month," recalls the rue de Grenelle.

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"The sending of this letter is fully justified as soon as serious and unfounded threats or challenges are issued against an agent of the National Education" but "nothing justifies that it was sent to certain families, including Nicolas' parents", she stresses.

"These unjustified shipments are linked to the fragility of this procedure"

According to the ministry, "these unjustified shipments are linked to the fragility of this procedure, which was put in place orally", with in particular the "lack of distinction between the different types of threats". Gabriel Attal described the letter as a "disgrace" and announced the launch of an audit on the management of bullying cases during the last school year in each school district.

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According to the ministry's statement on Tuesday, this national audit "does not reveal any comparable situation in other academies". The audit "will ensure that the right response schemes are applied in the management of bullying situations," he continued.