high schools go remote because of repeated bomb threats

At the Samuel-de-Champlain high school in Chennevières-sur-Marne (Val-de-Marne), only a few students are welcomed at the CDI but there is no one in the classrooms on Friday October 20. The bomb threats have been repeated so much in recent days that the return of videos and distance learning courses has been decided. These alerts began in some places in mid-September but they have been more frequent since the beginning of October, in the context of the conflict in Israel and the attack at the Gambetta high school in Arras which took place on Friday October 13.

These bomb threats are increasing in airports, train stations, national monuments such as the Palace of Versailles which was evacuated four times in five days, and especially in educational establishments, such as the Samuel-de-Lycée. Champlain. “We received a message to tell us that it would be all day remotely., explains Abby, a student. The rectorate had already made this decision the day before, Thursday October 19, after around fifteen bomb threats in three weeks.

“Every day there is an alert. It’s never over, it starts to take a long time after a while”

Abby, student at Samuel-de-Champlain high school, in Chennevières-sur-Marne

at franceinfo

“It’s repetitive… OK, not having class is good, but still!“, continues Abby. These systematic evacuations sometimes cause half-days of classes to be lost, which worries Ashraf, in second grade: “It’s shocking, we barely have any classes and we’re falling behind. Not all teachers catch up with video lessons, so it’s a shame for us”.

Four remote high schools in Val-de-Marne

For teachers who take the time to catch up, like Luc Hentz, who teaches history and geography and member of the Snes-FSU union, this is not easy to organize. “I was able to have a one-hour video with my final year students. We have already started by resolving questions of a purely technical nature. It’s a solution, perhaps in the short term, but which is not not at all ideal. For the moment, planning to make up the hours is complicated”, explains this professor. In theory, students are supposed to return to class after the All Saints holidays, but there must be no repeated new alerts which disrupt the lessons.

In Val-de-Marne, three other high schools, targeted by multiple bomb threats, have also gone remote since Thursday October 19, specifies the rectorate. According to the Créteil public prosecutor’s office, at least seven teenagers have been arrested in recent weeks for similar acts. These minors must be summoned before a judge within the next three months.