The teacher, in a “state of shock”, mentioned an overcrowded class but did not explain her actions according to her lawyer.

For its part, the rectorate assures franceinfo that the teacher’s file is empty. A video, shot by a student’s mother, shows her hitting a three-year-old student in a school in the 15th arrondissement of Paris.

Heard by the school management on Friday, September 6, the day after the alleged events, the teacher accused of having assaulted a three-year-old girl in a school in the 15th arrondissement of Paris immediately admitted the facts and apologized, according to the rectorate contacted by franceinfo on Wednesday, September 11.

She mentioned an overcrowded class – 26 students that morning – and a hectic atmosphere, according to the same source. However, the experienced teacher, who has been a permanent teacher for 20 years, half of which were spent at this school, does not explain her actions. According to her lawyer, Maître Hazan, his client is “in shock”. She “deeply regrets his gesture and has an emotional thought for the young student”The lawyer returns to his client’s working conditions: “We all know the dismay of teachers, this situation in no way excuses my client’s actions but it can partly explain them”.

The rectorate assures for its part that the file of this teacher, aged around fifty and who had never been talked about before, is empty. According to her lawyer to franceinfo, his client had been the subject of a report in 2012 for similar facts in the same school. Accusations deemed slanderous by the lawyer, which his client had denied and which had not been the subject of any prosecution.

“We are trying to bring up an old case where similar facts had been reported by parents of students. I would like to point out that there has never been any investigation into these facts. Simply a letter of denunciation to the rectorate to which a response was received. Period.”

Master Hazan, the teacher’s lawyer

to franceinfo

The teacher is due to be received in the coming days by the rectorate. She must still be presented to the disciplinary council which will decide on possible sanctions. In the meantime, she was suspended on Tuesday as a precaution.

At the same time, she is also the subject of a criminal investigation for violence after the complaint of the girl’s parents. According to their lawyer, Vanessa Edberg, several parents of the school are considering filing a complaint in turn. They have interviewed their children who also say they have been victims of this teacher in recent years.

“My client’s only concern is to protect her family”declares master Hazan who assures that she “is at the disposal of justice and its hierarchy”.

This Tuesday, a video shot by a student’s mother showing the teacher hitting the three-year-old child on September 5 in a nursery school in the 15th arrondissement of Paris was posted on social media and has since sparked a lot of reaction.