In Seine-Saint-Denis, a teacher slapped by a student following a disagreement over “religious” attire

A sports teacher from Jean-Jaurès high school, in Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis), was slapped on Tuesday by a student after asking her to remove her outfit “with religious connotations”declared the rectorate, Friday November 8, to Agence France-Presse (AFP), confirming information from BFM-TV.

During a sports class Tuesday afternoon in a stadium in Montreuil, “a student slapped her teacher who told her that her outfit was inappropriate”the Créteil rectorate, responsible for Seine-Saint-Denis, told AFP. The second year high school student's outfit was “with religious connotations” but was not an abaya, as the media wrote, the rectorate clarified.

The teacher, who has been off work since this altercation, filed a complaint at the police station along with the head of the establishment. The student was sent home pending a disciplinary hearing. “The rector condemns this attack and reaffirms her firmness in the face of any violence against our staff and any attack on the values ​​of the Republic”said the rector, Julie Benetti, on X.

Anne Genetet hopes for support “from the whole of society”

“Slapping a teacher, attacking a teacher is absolutely unacceptable”reacted on BFM-TV the Minister of Education, Anne Genetet. The minister stressed that “no support should be missing” to the teacher. Beyond her own and that of the institution, she hopes “that of society as a whole”. Because, according to M^me Genetet, the teacher did not “how to apply the internal regulations” by asking the student to remove clothing with religious connotations. The teenager, who claimed to have received authorization from the principal education advisor, in return spat on her, insulted her, then slapped her, according to BFM-TV.

This incident, which touches on the highly sensitive issue of secularism in schools, immediately generated political reactions. “Enough is enough. Immediate exclusion and legal proceedings »reacted on X the president of the Ile-de-France region, Valérie Pécresse, by calling for a “zero tolerance for any attack on a teacher”. “We do not compromise with secularism and we stand together with our teachers”declared PCF senator from Hauts-de-Seine Pierre Ouzoulias on this same social network.