The Islamists “have not succeeded and will not succeed” in “suppressing intelligence and the very possibility of teaching”, declared on Saturday the Minister of Education Pap Ndiaye, visibly moved, during a tribute to the Sorbonne to Professor Samuel Paty murdered two years ago.
“Whether we knew him or not, we miss Samuel Paty, because we know that (…) the hope and consideration he had for young people are part of those forces that hold the Republic together, make it more tolerant” and “prepare the citizens of tomorrow”, added the minister during this ceremony organized in an amphitheater of the Sorbonne, where a room now bears his name, by the association of history and geography teachers (APHG) z “Two years later, the trauma is still there,” said Pap Ndiaye at the exit.
“Teaching is explaining and not being silent”
Regarding the tributes organized in schools, Friday 14 or Monday 17, the minister was “delighted that very few incidents were recorded” Friday. “There are 18 nationwide, it’s much less than last year,” he said, stressing that his ministry intended to show “firmness” in the face of incidents, but also “transparency “: “We do not put dust under the carpet”.
“To teach is to explain and not to be silent”, declared for her part Mickaëlle Paty, sister of the teacher, who dedicated her speech “to all the people who died, were injured, tortured or imprisoned for having dared to express themselves. “.
A 2nd edition on the theme of “infox”
Three classes of middle school students, who worked during the 2021-2022 school year on the theme of freedom of expression, were awarded the first Samuel Paty Prize, awarded by the APHG.
The winning class, from the Marie-Mauron college in Pertuis (Vaucluse), investigated past religious intolerance in their region, in the form of podcasts devoted to the massacre of the “Vaudois du Luberon” which claimed some 3,000 Protestant victims in the 16th century. .
For the 2nd edition of the prize, middle and high school students are invited to work this year on the theme of “infox” and the danger they represent for democracy.