two years later, college students pay tribute to Samuel Paty

Two years after the assassination of Samuel Paty near his Bois d’Aulne college in Conflans Saint-Honorine (Yvelines), on October 16, 2020, tributes are paid in schools on Friday October 14 or Monday October 17. This 47-year-old history and geography teacher was killed by a radicalized young man who accused him of having shown caricatures of Muhammad in class.

>> Two years after the assassination of Samuel Paty, a prize to pay tribute to him and “to say no to religious fanaticism and obscurantism”

Like last year, teachers can choose the form of this tribute. The ministry of I’Education national suggests ideas such as a minute of silence or a moment of discussion around this event and secularism. This is what was decided in this sixth grade class of a college in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. “The idea is to maintain the tribute and to maintain the duty of memory”sums up Audrey, a French teacher.

In his class, this tribute takes place early in the morning, Friday, October 14. At 9 a.m. the bell rang and the students entered the classroom. “We shut up and we calm down“, begins the professor. The assassination of Samuel Paty “was obviously a big shock, especially for the educational community to which I belong“, explains Audrey to her class.”To mark the memory of this teacher, it was decided to hold a minute of silence. What is a minute of silence?“, she asks her students.”We ain’t gotta make no noise, no talk, no drop his rule“, answers one of them.

The minute of silence is quickly launched. And very well respected by the students. “Thank you, you have really paid tribute by your silence and your seriousness to this person, and to all those who, like him, are victims of a lack of freedom of expression.“, notes satisfied Audrey, who then launches a time of exchange. “How does that feel to you? We raise our hands as usual!“Young people then respond in turn.”I had pain in heart because it was sad, it’s also sad to cry”said one of them.

“It allows us at the same time to appease us and to pay tribute to someone who had done nothing”.

a sixth-grade student

at franceinfo

“The Muslim who killed Samuel Paty is not worthy of Muslims since in religion, killing is notis not good”, concludes a third. Moments of exchange which are good for the pupils and which are necessary for the teachers. “Its very important for us. The whole community has been very marked, and feeling weakened by this kind of attack is a very sensitive subject.“, explains Audrey. This drama also affected her loved ones and her family, in particular the children and the husband of Audrey.Since then, they often tell me to be careful when I do such a course“, she concludes.

Another class, another age group, another way of doing things. At the other end of the college, Guénolé, a PE teacher, decided to proceed differently for this time of tribute. At the end of the lesson with his ninth grade class, he calls all his students: “if you want to drink, you go there, and then you come in front of the table please!” “We will approach things together with a little support“, explains Guénolé. “We are totally free to do as we want with the classes, according to the age of the children and also according to our sensitivities and the state of mind of each class”, explains the professor. He also recognizes that he can be “more difficult to broach the subject” and “to go deep” with certain classes.

This morning, he chose a poem by Louis Aragon to launch this sequence: The Rose and the Reseda. Guénolé launches and connects the verses: “A rebel is a rebel / Our sobs make a single death knell / And when the cruel dawn comes / Pass from life to death / The one who believed in heaven / The one who didn’t believe“. A text that allows to engage the discussion. “What values ​​are we talking about?“, Guénolé asks his students. “These are the values ​​of France“, responds one of them spontaneously. On the board behind, Guénolé has written the triptych “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité”, “the values ​​of the Republic“.

Opposite, the students are invested and receptive to this time of homage. “It’s mostly for teachers, because they can come to class afraid to teach and get killed on the way home from school.“, explains one of them.

“I just want to tell teachers not to be afraid to teach.”

a third-grade student

at franceinfo

“What happened to this professor is abnormal, it pains me a lot because I understand that this young man may have had some disagreements, but he could not sanction this professor with such serious facts“, expresses another student after the discussions. If he disagreed with his teacher, he “would explain his point of view to try to find an agreement.” “Because the disagreement between two people is the shortest way“, he concludes.