A teacher at the Clément-Ader school in Le Fauga, south of Toulouse, received death threats from a student's father following an incident involving his son. The incident occurred on Friday, September 4, at the end of the school day. Deeply traumatized, the teacher was placed on sick leave for a month. The parent was taken into custody and appeared before the Toulouse prosecutor's office on Thursday, September 10.
Education Minister Édouard Geffray reacted to the incident, denouncing the "extremely serious nature of the events ." The incident comes just days after the start of the school year and once again raises the issue of the safety of education staff in the face of threats and violence.
"I'm going to cut your head off!"
The events took place on Friday, September 4, in the parking lot of the Clément-Ader school group in Le Fauga, a town in Haute-Garonne located about thirty kilometers south of Toulouse.
At the end of the day, as the teacher was returning to her car, a student's father approached her. During the altercation, the man allegedly hurled insults at the teacher before shouting, "I'm going to cut your head off!"
The threat reportedly stemmed from an incident that occurred a few hours earlier at the school. The man's son, an elementary school student, had been punished by another teacher for his behavior. The child was then sent to the class of the teacher who would be threatened a few hours later.
Teachers are exercising their right to withdraw
The incident immediately caused serious concern within the school, which has approximately 325 students. On Monday, September 7, the teachers at the school exercised their right to withdraw from work. The National Education Inspector for the Muret district also summoned the father. During this meeting, he reportedly apologized for his remarks. These apologies did not prevent the legal proceedings from continuing. The teacher involved, particularly distressed by the events, was placed on sick leave for a month. She has worked at the school for many years.
The father was taken into custody and then brought before the prosecutor.
The father was questioned on Tuesday, September 8, at the Muret gendarmerie brigade. He was then taken into custody. Following his detention, he was to be brought before the Toulouse prosecutor's office on Thursday, which was responsible for deciding on the legal action to be taken in the case.
This new case is reminiscent of another particularly disturbing intrusion that occurred at a school in Toulouse last May. A mother and two teenagers were taken into custody after entering the school armed.
Édouard Geffray denounces "extremely serious acts"
The Minister of National Education, Édouard Geffray, condemned the threats made against the teacher. He described the events as "extremely serious".
The qualification used is not insignificant: in the reporting systems of the National Education system, threats and death threats against staff are among the attacks likely to be considered as extremely serious acts.
The minister had already called in recent months for increased family involvement in addressing school violence. Édouard Geffray had also recently painted a very worrying picture of the state of French schools , notably mentioning the difficulties the institution faces.
Threats against teachers under close surveillance
Death threats against teachers have been the subject of particular vigilance since the assassination of Samuel Paty, a history and geography teacher beheaded by an Islamist terrorist on October 16, 2020, following a hate campaign triggered by false accusations concerning one of his lessons. The trial for Samuel Paty's murder notably provided an opportunity to revisit the chain of events leading up to his killing . In Le Fauga, no physical attacks have been reported. However, the very nature of the threat deeply affected the teacher and her colleagues. The courts must now determine the legal consequences to be addressed regarding the statements attributed to the father.
