The PE teacher and the student from the Jean-Jaurès high school in Montreuil disagreed on the outfit of the latter. The teacher asked the high school student to remove her clothing “with religious connotations” before being attacked. According to the rectorate, however, it was not an abaya as claimed in the media.
A new affair which is part of the ultra-sensitive question of secularism in schools. A sports teacher from the Jean-Jaurès high school in Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis) was slapped by a student who spat on her on Tuesday after asking her to remove her outfit “with religious connotations”, indicated to Liberation this Friday, November 8, the Créteil rectorate, confirming information from BFMTV.
The academy explains that during a sports class Tuesday afternoon in a stadium in the town “a student slapped her teacher who told her that her outfit was inappropriate.” The second year high school student's outfit is described as “inappropriate” et “with religious connotations” but it was not an abaya (a traditional long covering dress from the Persian Gulf, editor's note), as written by other media, clarified the rectorate.
The student excluded while awaiting a disciplinary council
The teacher, on sick leave since this altercation, filed a complaint for “assault” at the police station along with the head of the establishment and she will benefit from the “functional protection” with payment of legal costs if necessary, confirms in Libé the rectorate. The student was placed “as a precautionary measure” and removed from the establishment while awaiting a disciplinary council. “The rector condemns this aggression and reaffirms her firmness in the face of any violence against our staff and any attack on the values of the Republic,” writes rector Julie Benetti on X.
After the media coverage of the case, several political figures reacted to call for sanctions and support the teacher concerned. “Enough is enough. Immediate exclusion and legal proceedings”, the president of the Île-de-France region Valérie Pécresse reacted on “zero tolerance for any teacher attack”. For PCF senator from Hauts-de-Seine Pierre Ouzoulias, “we do not compromise with secularism and we stand together with our teachers”, in his words on this same social network.
Updated : at 3 p.m., with more details from the rectorate.
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