How the French school deals with radical Islam
Enrico Martial's point after the teacher's murder in Paris
The story of the history and geography teacher who had given a lecture on freedom of expression in a school in the Yvelines department of the Paris region, showing among other things the cartoons of Mohammed, and killed by an 18-year-old pupil, perhaps of Chechen origins, in front of the school, he provoked a deep and unanimous reaction of bewilderment.
On the one hand there are the facts: the lesson in a school in a difficult area, due to economic-social tensions and radicalism, the stance of some parents, one of whom filed a complaint, on 5 October last. Then, on Friday, the murder, in the cruel form of beheading, with the murderer's young age, his death after a fire fight with the police. Followed by the interruption of the work of the National Assembly, the changes in the government's agenda, the President Emmanuel Macron, the Minister of National Education Jean-Michel Blanquer and the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin who visit the place, the meetings planned with the teachers.
On the other hand, the context in which the bloody event took place must be considered, immediately traced back to a terrorist attack, and perceived as linked to the radicalized areas and neighborhoods. The media report with relative continuity the problems of public order in the districts "of republican reconquest", or in any case also linked to radical Islamism. Only last Saturday, 12 October, the police station of Champigny-sur-Marne was attacked by about forty people with marbles, iron bars and fireworks, creating a condition of siege: the event caused political reactions and great public concern, even if fireworks attacks are nothing new. For example, in October a year ago there was a strong concentration of similar events. Fireworks had been used as mortars in Chanteloup-les-Vignes, also in the department of Yvelines, in Mantes-la-ville, in Trappes, in Mureaux, and in Etampes, where a school and a high school had been set on fire.
Furthermore, in these days the media are reporting systematic news of the trial for the attacks of 7 and 8 January 2015 in Charlie Hebdo, at the Hyper Cacher and in Montrouge. Last September 25, then, a terrorist attack wounded two people from the communication agency in the old premises of Charlie Hebdo, who had decided to republish the caricatures that were at the origin of the massacre.
Two weeks ago, on 2 October, gathering substantially favorable reactions from all parties, from the municipality of Les Mureaux, also in the Yvelines department, President Macron outlined the general lines of a bill that will be presented on 9 December against the Islamic "separatism" in France, that is the cases in which there is a violation of the legal order and of the republican constitutional principles, and of which Startmag reported . The bill also concerns the school system, which has been at the center of attention for both security and radicalization for years.
In addition, French newspapers, radios and televisions have in recent days prophetically hosted Jean-Pierre Obin, former inspector general of national education, author of " How is Islam allowed to penetrate schools " (Comment on a laissé Islamisme pénétrer l'école ”, by Hermann). The book presents a wealth of cases, from compliant medical certificates on chlorine allergy that allow girls not to participate in sports swimming lessons, to anti-Semitism that forced several boys in Lyon to change schools under a protected regime, to behavior erratic of the school administration, which even hindered principals and teachers in the fight against radicalization, with a background of presence of the Muslim Brotherhood. Although welcomed with interest but also with prudence – in the concern to provide material to the extreme right-wing lepenist – the book recalls in public opinion the story of the 2004 report, on the "Signs and behaviors of religious affiliation in schools" in which the same Obin, with a team of nine other inspectors, visited schools and administrations in 24 departments, and then handed the text over to the then Minister of Education, François Fillon, who put it in a drawer. Indiscretions emerged and a debate ensued, which finds itself with similar arguments these days.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/come-la-scuola-francese-si-confronta-con-lislamismo-radicale/ on Sat, 17 Oct 2020 06:06:45 +0000.