Computers broken with a hammer: a Beauvais school targeted by an attack

In Beauvais (Oise), a primary school was the target of an act of vandalism on the night of December 23 to 24. It was a city maintenance worker who made this discovery. An investigation has been opened.

In several classrooms at the Alphonse-Daudet school, but also at the annex of the Perrault school, in Beauvais, computer equipment was broken and books were found on the floor. Denouncing these “odious” acts, the mayor of the city assured the Parisian that the intention of these criminals was to attack the school.

Ten classrooms out of twelve vandalized

For Franck Pia, the UDI mayor of the city, this is “unbearable violence for the children and the teachers”, even if there was no theft. “They broke microphones and computer devices with a hammer. The books are on the floor… we also have aquariums in the Perrault school annex, which have been broken. We found dead fish,” explained the councilor. “At this Christmas time, I find it odious,” he continued.

In this school, which accommodates 120 students in elementary classes, ten out of twelve rooms were vandalized. The annex of the establishment, which is used by the nearby Charles-Perrault school to accommodate three kindergarten classes, was also targeted.

Élodie, who is a maintenance agent at the city level, made this sad discovery when taking work this Tuesday, December 24 at 7 a.m. “After signing in, I saw that the principal’s office was open. I found it strange,” she told our colleagues, adding: “I walked forward and started to see the damage in the other open rooms. I called the 17th.”

“Everything will be done to find these despicable individuals as quickly as possible”

France Bleu reports that this Tuesday, the mayor declared that security measures would “rain on Beauvais”. “The police will be called upon to monitor the schools. There is no question of this happening in a new school,” he insisted, counting on the use of images from surveillance cameras to find the perpetrators of these acts.

Jean-Marie Caillaud, the prefect of Oise, for his part described these facts as “shameful”, “distressing” and “unspeakable”, indicating that an investigation had been opened. “Everything will be done to find these despicable individuals as quickly as possible,” he said, adding: “The scientific police have made their findings and the investigation will have to determine the operating method. »

“We are attacking a strong symbol of our Republic”

“Stunned by the violence and hatred of the perpetrators of these acts”, the mayor of Beauvais further underlined: “We are attacking a strong symbol of our Republic. A school is the place of knowledge, of instruction, of transmission. This is indicative of a real fundamental problem that must be resolved. »

The elected official asked for monitoring of schools to be “increased” and promised that “everything would be put back in order for the start of the school year”. In addition to the agents, teachers will certainly return from vacation earlier in order to clean the premises and allow a normal reopening at the start of the 2025 school year.

The mayor mentioned to the Ile-de-France daily that this school had “already been targeted in the past, but it was mainly broken windows”.