“Classes are canceled for students until 10 a.m.” on Monday, announced Saturday, October 14, the Minister of National Education, Gabriel Attal, to pay tribute to the teacher killed during the attack in a high school from Arras, Friday. The Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, for her part promised teachers that the authorities will be “there to ensure [their] safety”.
A “time of exchange that is both human and educational” will take place within the educational teams of the establishments, Monday between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. “in memory of the victims of the attacks committed against our School”. However, “minimum reception” will be provided in establishments for students who have no other choice than to come before 10 a.m. and “to allow them to wait before resuming”. School transportation will take place as planned.
The Minister of National Education also asked employers to be “tolerant towards employees who [arrive] a little later” because of this delay. In a press release on Saturday, Medef asked “its member companies to show tolerance regarding the arrival time of their employees, parents of secondary school students on Monday morning”.
“We will not give in to violence.”
In addition, a minute of silence will be observed “at 2 p.m.” in all schools and rectorates. “In primary school, this time of homage and contemplation may take other forms, to take into account the age of the students,” said the minister.
These establishments will pay tribute to Dominique Bernard, a literature professor stabbed to death by Mohammed M., 20, a young Islamist of Caucasian origin followed by the intelligence services. Mr. Bernard, who taught at the college, “first intervened, and undoubtedly saved many lives himself”, underlined Emmanuel Macron, who called for “to stand together” in the face of “the barbarity of Islamist terrorism.”
The assailant also attacked a technical agent hit by “several stab wounds”, and a maintenance agent, also injured.
This new attack caused a shock wave, particularly in the teaching community, still marked by the death of Samuel Paty, a history and geography professor murdered on October 16, 2020 in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine (Yvelines). The Prime Minister promises to ensure their safety. “I want to say it to all teachers: we will be there to ensure your safety,” she declared during a speech given on the occasion of the Samuel Paty prize award ceremony at the Sorbonne. in Paris. “The school is a sanctuary (…). When a teacher is attacked, it is not only the Republic that is targeted: it is its future that is threatened,” she continued, assuring: “We will not give in to violence. We will face it and we will fight it. »
