“There is this desire, more than ever, to continue doing our job and [d]”being in our establishments with our students”, confides Sophie Venetitay, deputy general secretary of Snes-SFU

How was the tribute to Dominique Bernard, murdered on Friday October 13, experienced by Sophie Venetitay, deputy general secretary of the Snes-SFU? “It was a very poignant moment, full of emotion, to see these thousands of people gathered to pay tribute to a colleague who was murdered, and who was murdered because he was doing his job. (…) He was assassinated because he was doing his job, because he was a teacher, and because he represented the school. (…) Even today, it is an idea that is unbearable for us“, she confides.

What is the tone of the exchanges with his colleagues since the tragedy? “There is a lot of emotion, there is astonishment too, to see that we can die from teaching in France, in 2023. (…) Beyond the astonishment, the emotion and the shock, there is also anger (…). To say to yourself: how is it possible that, three years after the assassination of Samuel Paty, we still have an assassination of a professor in France? It was unimaginable three years ago, it’s still unimaginable, and yet it happens“, she continues.

Teachers between fear and determination

How do teachers approach the return to class on Monday October 16? “Colleagues told us they were afraid, and this fear must be heard“, replies Sophie Venetitay. The deputy general secretary of Snes-SFU recalls that despite everything, they want to keep their heads held high. “All our colleagues tell us that, however, we are not going to stop doing our work. We are not going to stop keeping the school of the Republic alive. We cannot let terrorism win. (…) there is also this desire, more than ever, to continue to do our job, and to continue to be in our establishments with our students“, concludes Sophie Venetitay.