what to remember from the report of the Senate commission of inquiry into threats against teachers

The Senate report denounces “endemic violence” in schools, in the face of which educational staff are insufficiently supported.

“Act to avoid new tragedies.” A Senate commission of inquiry points to the “painful loneliness” teachers in the face of threats and attacks and urges the Ministry of National Education to “regain control” to defend secularism in schools, in a report published Wednesday March 6.

This commission was launched at the request of the family of Samuel Paty, whose assassination on October 16, 2020 shook the country and drew attention to the threats to which educational staff can be victims. A concern further strengthened after the assassination of Dominique Bernard on October 13, 2023. The senators were therefore interested in the “pressure, threats and attacks of which teachers are victims”.

The report written by François-Noël Buffet (LR) and Laurent Lafon (UDI) proposes 38 recommendations for “promote this French secularism, better train educational staff and provide them with the tools necessary to carry out their mission”. Here are the main conclusions.

A bitter observation

“The most striking observation is the terrible loneliness experienced by members of educational staff in the face of a daily life marked by tensions and conflicts”, François-Noël Buffet was alarmed. The summary of the report echoes“endemic violence” In “all territories, both rural and urban, favored or popular” and at all levels.

“Insults, threats, pressure and attacks now constitute the daily life of teachers as well as all administrative staff.”

Senators François-Noël Buffet and Laurent Lafon

in their report

The rapporteurs denounce an increase in challenges to teaching or the authority of the teacher, from students and their parents, as well as an increase in the rejection of secularism, “poorly known”. They also point to a “generational break” within the teaching staff, with “a number of young teachers [qui] wonder about its usefulness”.

Faced with these challenges, “teachers feel little supported by their hierarchy”estimates the report. “In 2021, only 54% of teachers say they have received total support from management staff”to the point that Senator Laurent Lafon noted a “mistrust” growing between field actors and their administrative hierarchy.

Risks and a lack of support that contribute to installing “a fear in the exercise of the profession” and to make more teachers resign – a phenomenon also linked to the general lack of attractiveness of the profession, notes the text.

Limited initiatives

“Tools exist at the administrative, police and judicial levels to prevent attacks”notes the report, which adds that “the assassination of Samuel Paty led to a certain awareness (…) which resulted in particular in the establishment of reinforced sanctions and procedures of accelerated reporting”.

For example, the law reinforcing respect for the principles of the Republic provides, among other things, for a criminal sanction in the event of obstruction, “in a concerted manner and with the aid of threats”, to the exercise of the teaching function. But “the application of this provision appears to be limited to date”estimate the rapporteurs.

Another change: to encourage teachers to file a complaint in the event of a problem, “the victim officer has the choice, in the domiciliation address appearing on the report, between his personal address, the address of the gendarmerie brigade and the address of his place of work”. But “communication on the follow-up given to complaints [est] excessively slow” even “non-existent”according to teachers interviewed by the commission.

Proposals for the future

For “reaffirm the authority of the educational institution”the authors of the report, both from the right and center majority in the Senate, propose to “review the disciplinary corpus” in the event of threats and other pressures through a “harmonization of sanctions at national level”. They also suggest having parents sign a form each year. “parents’ charter” in which “will be reminded of the fact that teaching cannot be contested”.

The rapporteurs believe that training dedicated to secularism should be increased and “extend for students the ban on wearing ostentatious religious symbols and outfits to any activity organized by the educational institution, including outside school hours”. In a more symbolic way, they advocate the organization of a compulsory day of tribute to murdered teachers in each establishment at the start of the school year.

The senators also propose various measures to streamline the legal process for agents who are victims of attacks or threats. For example by allowing the administration to file a complaint itself in place of an assaulted agent. The senators also envisage strengthening links between establishments, the police and justice.

This senatorial report was unanimously adopted in committee in the Senate, but part of the left abstained.