Ceremony in tribute to Samuel Paty at the Sens high school
The Sens high school student council took the initiative of adding a plaque at the foot of the tree planted in tribute to Samuel Paty. A ceremony in tribute to the professor took place on Thursday June 27, 2024.
A wave of emotion swept over the students and teachers gathered for the inauguration of a plaque erected in tribute to Samuel Paty, victim of an Islamist terrorist attack on October 16, 2020 in the town of Éragny-sur-Oise. A few weeks ago, during the Spring holidays, the students of the High School Life Council decided to plant a tree in tribute to the teacher who never leaves their minds, nor Dominique Bernard, assassinated in 2023 in Arras. “A symbolic tree, eternal in their memory” as expressed by Mkrtitch Martirossyan, president of the High School Life Council (CVL) until the end of this school year. The flowering pear tree was offered by the Sens town hall and planted by the technical services in collaboration with the high school maintenance department, and of course in agreement with the principal Philippe Gout who supported this project. A plaque now keeps this tree company. The work in resin, a material very resistant to ultraviolet and cold, was produced by several Plastic and Composite classes (2nde1timeterminal and BTS) in partnership with the company Plemet Industrie, a resin specialist located in the Vauguillettes area.
“Mr Samuel Paty and Mr Dominique Bernard have left an indelible mark on our memory as a teacher and especially as a Frenchman” as the president of the CVL recalls. They “were more than teachers. They embodied the fundamental values of the Republic and our DNA: liberty, equality and fraternity”. A thought reinforced by the speech of the high school principal for whom “Samuel Paty and Dominique Bernard embodied and continue to embody an ideal that Jaurès dreamed of when he wrote his letter to teachers”. The ceremony ended with the laying of a wreath of flowers at the foot of the plaque by elected officials, Grégory Dorte, mayor of Pont-sur-Yonne and vice-president of the Yonne Departmental Council, and Séverine Mainvis, mayor of Malay-le-Grand, as well as Gilles Seguin, member of the ACPG-CATM-OPEX veterans association of Yonne present for the occasion.
Floriane BOIVIN
