His name is no longer readable. One of the exterior signs which mark the entrance to Square Samuel-Paty, just opposite the Sorbonne (Ve) has been damaged in recent days. The first and last name of the teacher murdered in 2020 have been torn up.
This Sunday, it was Thibault de Montbrial, the lawyer of Mickaëlle Paty, one of Samuel Paty's sisters, who was the first to post a message on , in the heart of the 5th arrondissement of Paris. A few hundred meters from the Assize Court where the trial of those responsible for his beheading is taking place…”
A message which aroused a lot of emotion as the trial for the assassination of Samuel Paty has been held since November 4. Until December 20, eight people are on trial for their involvement in this terrorist attack by the Special Assize Court of Paris. On October 16, 2020, this history and geography professor was beheaded by a young Islamist of Chechen origin near his college in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine (Yvelines), after showing caricatures of Mohammed in class. One year to the day later, the City of Paris symbolically decided to give the name of Samuel Paty to this square in the 5th arrondissement.
Asked by Le Parisien, the City of Paris responded this Monday that it “is aware of this unacceptable degradation” and specifies that it concerns one of the exterior panels “and not the plaque”. The mayor also assures that “she will naturally file a complaint and restore the panel and the tribute paid by the City of Paris to Samuel Paty in all its dignity”.
Two months after the inauguration of the square in 2021, the plaque inside the square was defaced for the first time. The word “Islamist” had been erased with a bomb in the words “victim of Islamist terrorism”. In 2023, the plaque had been vandalized again. The teacher's name had this time been crossed out. In both cases, the City filed a complaint and denounced “unacceptable attacks on the memory of this professor”.
