This Monday, April 29, Nicolas Bourez, director of the André-Chénier elementary school, in Neuilly-sur-Marne, in Seine-Saint-Denis, did not go to work: he fears for his safety and that of his students. On his X account, he describes his situation. Following a ministerial project, the head of the establishment launched the implementation of common uniform at school. A decision which did not convince everyone, even if validated by the majority during the school council. The Neuilly-sur-Marne public school defense committee published a press release that B.V. was able to consult: he personally implicates the director of the establishment. He is accused of belonging to the extreme right and of maintaining an anti-Muslim obsession.
To ensure the safety of his school, the principal remains at home
The director of the elementary school filed a complaint twice for aggravated defamation, since they were uttered within the framework of his duties, he confided to B.V.. On his way home from the police station, Nicolas Bourez tells us that he came across individuals distributing these defamatory leaflets which implicate him personally, as he left his school. Worried by this “tissue of lies and approximations which draws a target on the back of a professor who is only implementing a ministerial project”he explains to us his choice to expose himself and publicize this affair: “As a director, I am responsible for the safety of my students within my establishment. By not going to school, I am trying to protect them. If a madman wants to attack me for my decisions, he will come after me, and not my school since I’m not there! »
Nicolas Bourez therefore summoned the teachers of his establishment to warn them of the content of the press release and the threats weighing on him and, by extension, on the establishment. An accident could quickly turn into a tragedy. “Even my colleagues who did not agree with the uniform project were shocked by this reaction. Are we still a democracy? Is it still possible to apply a decision validated by the school council? » The risk is all the higher, according to the director, as this town of Seine-Saint-Denis was very shaken during the riots last summer: the media library adjoining the school caught fire, seven vehicles police had been damaged… “It’s not the calm that characterizes the place. »
“The wave step is good, that’s enough!” »
In addition to the anti-democratic pressure exerted by this committee, Nicolas Bourez is deeply revolted by the guilty silence which surrounds his calls for help. The union to which he belongs, Action et Démocratie, repeatedly alerted the Prime Minister’s office and the Ministry of National Education, which had acknowledged receipt of the letter without ever responding to it or putting in place the slightest protection measure. “I am disgusted by the official communication. The “no wave” is good, that’s enough! What we want is to work in ideological neutrality”he is indignant, before continuing: “I set up the common uniform project and I am accused of Islamophobia? Taking as a pretext the articles that I was able to publish in Talker…Where are we, with freedom of expression, with democracy? » He pursues : “Threats and accusations of Islamophobia are taken seriously. I will go all the way.”he insists.
On X, some political figures shared the director’s video denouncing the government’s inaction. Among them, Marion Maréchal, head of the Reconquest list in the European elections, https://twitter.com/HeleneLaporteRN/status/1784894732990025790RN deputy for Lot-et-Garonne, or https://twitter.com/GilbertCollard/status/1784846194771914794, Member of the European Parliament (RN). As for the Minister of National Education Nicole Belloubet, she responded https://twitter.com/NBelloubet/status/1784893495288676769 to Marion Maréchal not having “waited for your tweet of electoral interest to act firmly. As soon as the facts were known, a report was made to the prosecutor, functional protection granted and the director’s security reinforced in conjunction with the police.”. Comments that the director disputes with B.V. : “I didn’t get an answer for functional protection. I went to the police station alone twice… and I didn’t see any law enforcement at or around the school. » Double speech ? How many Samuel Patys or Dominique Bernards will it take for the government to finally take dissuasive measures to protect teachers?
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