“Supposed harassment”, “unacceptable remarks”… The letter from the rectorate addressed in May to the parents of the harassed teenager who committed suicide in Poissy last September left Nicolas’s parents “outraged and appalled”, according to comments collected by AFP.
“You called into question the functions and threatened management staff with complaints (…). The comments you made and the behavior you showed towards National Education personnel whose professionalism and integrity should not have been called into question in this way are unacceptable,” stated this letter. revealed by BFM TVwho threatened the parents with slanderous denunciation proceedings, and spoke of “supposed harassment” regarding Nicolas.
Possible complaint
In a previous letter, to which the rectorate responded, the parents complained of not having heard from the principal following a meeting about their child’s case, the principal reproaching them in return for not having tried to get in touch with the educational community.
“We were outraged and frightened to receive such letters,” assured Nicolas’ mother, Béatrice, who clarified that she had not yet decided whether she was going to file a complaint. “Before making this decision, we are awaiting the results of the investigations and the actions that will be carried out by the government,” she explained in a written exchange with AFP on Sunday.
Suicide attempt
Two members of the government reacted on Saturday, after the publication of letters from the rectorate and the high school principal by BFMTV. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne described the tone of the missive as “shocking”. “This letter is a shame, a shame,” said Gabriel Attal, who ordered an administrative investigation. For the teenager’s mother, these official reactions showed that finally, their “son was recognized in his suffering and his harassment”.
Her son committed suicide on September 5, upon returning to a new establishment. From mid-October 2022, Nicolas’s parents realized that their son was being harassed and alerted the teaching team. In mid-March, they learned from his psychologist that their son attempted suicide in January. “It was at that moment that we put everything in motion to help our son, handrail, meeting with the principal, exchange of letters, etc. “, she listed.
After a first meeting with the teaching team, the parents sent a new letter to the principal, but only received in response the letters criticized by Élisabeth Borne and Gabriel Attal. “We still do not know if even a symbolic sanction was issued against the harassers,” she lamented.