A parent knocks a primary school teacher to the ground in La Rochelle

The 42-year-old man was placed in police custody for “aggravated contempt”, “aggravated violence” and “aggravated intrusion into a school establishment”, after having physically attacked a teacher on Thursday at the Jean-Bart primary school in La Rochelle.

A teacher at the Jean-Bart primary school in La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime) was physically attacked by a parent of a student on Thursday June 20, France Bleu La Rochelle reported this Friday.

According to Arnaud Lazaire, public prosecutor of La Rochelle, the attacker’s stepson, a 42-year-old man, had disrupted the school choir earlier in the day and had been punished by a teacher. It was when the child’s mother and stepfather came to pick him up that the situation escalated.

Dissatisfied with the situation, the parents “forced” entry by demanding to see the principal. It was in the latter’s office that the stepfather verbally attacked various teachers before pushing one to the ground and kicking him twice. The director then intervened to remove the attacker from the establishment, then called the La Rochelle police, who arrested the student’s parent.

The 42-year-old man was taken into custody for “aggravated contempt”, “aggravated violence” and “aggravated intrusion into a school establishment”. He faces up to seven years in prison, but is currently contesting the facts.

His police custody was extended on Friday evening. “Total work incapacity varies between 0 and 8 days (psychological shock)” for the teachers on site, specifies the prosecutor. The teacher hit on the ground “does well physically, but he is deeply shocked”explains Martine Madelaine, deputy for children, youth and extracurricular affairs for the city of La Rochelle, who went to the site the day after the attack.

Municipal police were deployed around the establishment on Friday. She will remain under surveillance until the end of the school year, scheduled in two weeks, to ensure the safety of the Jean-Bart school group.