Teacher slapped by a student in the North: veil not removed, “media pressure”, reactions… What we know

The student suspected of having slapped a teacher at her high school in Tourcoing (North) on Monday who asked her to remove the veil she had just put on when leaving the establishment obtained an extension on Wednesday before being judged, and will appear on December 11. Here is what we know about this affair.

What happened?

The events occurred on Tuesday at the Sévigné high school in Tourcoing, in the North. A science and medical-social technology teacher allegedly asked a student to remove the veil she had just put on when leaving the establishment. In return, she would have received insults. The teacher then “opposed to his leaving the establishment in order to obtain his identity” and the student then carried “a slap to the teacher, who returned it”, the Lille prosecutor’s office told AFP. “Several blows, threats and shoving followed.“, adds prosecutor Carole Étienne. The student, aged 18 and unknown to the police, then fledbefore being arrested at her home and placed in police custody. Classes, suspended on Tuesday, were also canceled on Wednesday in order to allow “a time of exchange and work” for staff, according to the rectorate. The teacher filed a complaint and a disciplinary council is also planned for the 18-year-old girl.

Also read – North: suspected of having slapped a teacher who asked her to remove her veil, a student in police custody

What happened at the hearing?

The alleged attacker received a delay on Wednesday before being judged, and will appear on December 11. “I’m sorry for the blows I may have given this teacher.”declared the 18-year-old girl, black jacket over white T-shirt, during the immediate appearance hearing during which she obtained this delay. This final year student in professional hospitality professions will be judged for violence followed by an ITT of less than eight days and threatening to kill a person responsible for a public service mission. She was placed under judicial supervision with a ban on making contact with the victim and appearing at her home or near the school.

The president indicated that she did not deny hitting the teacher but disputed the death threats. Stressing that she had no criminal record, the young girl’s lawyer, Ossama Dahmane, estimated at the hearing that her place was not in immediate appearance. He denounced to journalists “a procedure guided by public opinion” and said he hoped that “media pressure” falls so that his client can arrive calmly at her trial.

The teacher was not present at the hearing on Wednesday. “My client was shocked because she is only doing her duty and clearly for some time, teachers (…) and many other professional bodies have always been victims of violence when we want to enforce a rule of law, a principle, safety rules“, his lawyer, Eric Cattelin-Denu, lamented to journalists. He also pointed out that the name of the teacher had “circulated on social networks”. “I hope not to fear for his safety but in any case, there are (…) postures which are extremely unpleasant”he pointed.

What were the reactions?

The Minister of Education Anne Genetet, who spoke with the professor, announced that a “precautionary measure” had been taken against the student “to prohibit him from accessing the establishment until his disciplinary council meets”. Pointing out an act that defies the“secular school” et “the Republic”, she indicated that she had asked “very firm disciplinary sanctions“. “In all our establishments, the 2004 law must apply, the entire 2004 law” prohibiting the wearing of religious symbols at school, reacted the Minister Delegate in charge of educational success Alexandre Portier. “The time is no longer for wandering, for hesitation, but for a clear, firm and assertive line.”he added.

The teacher was also able to count on the support of Gérald Darmanin, former Minister of the Interior and mayor of Tourcoing, or Xavier Bertrand, president of Hauts-de-France. “Secularism is one of the pillars of the school of the Republic, it cannot be negotiated,” declared the latter. In a press release issued on Wednesday, the union representatives of the high school’s educational teams provide their support to their colleague who is a victim of violence. but underline a “uncontrollable and biased runaway“media, social and political networks.

Monday’s eventsare part of a series of five cases of physical attacks against female teachers, which have occurred in recent weeks in different contexts“, they explain, emphasizing that “the question of secularism only arose in one of them”. Removal of hours, unfilled teaching positions, lack of nurses, “successive deteriorations of our working conditions (…) prevent us from preventing these difficulties, as we have always done before they transformed into violence”they write.

What do other students say?

Leïla, a final year student who did not witness the events, said to herself:really shocked” mardi. “Why such violence for a simple veil? The teacher could very well have asked the young girl very calmly to remove her veil”estimates the student, who withdraws his at high school. For another student, in first grade, who does not wish to give her name, the student arrested “Should have just taken off her veil and put it on when she left school, like all girls do.” “The teacher just wanted to defend herself, impose the rules“, according to the young girl.

A handful of students gathered in front of the high school at midday on Wednesday, including a friend of the accused who described the situation as‘”injustice”, considering that putting a veil back on before having completely left the establishment was “usual“. For Bilel (who did not wish to give his last name), a high school student who came to court to support his friend, these facts “don’t look like him at all.” “What I didn’t understand was that the teacher got in on the act by slapping him. What she should have done is play smart, knowing she’s an adult“, he estimated.

(upday with AFP)