Nellie Monneret
Content Warning: This article discusses violence and terror attacks.
France has raised its security alert to the highest level following the death of a teacher in a terror attack in a school in Arras, northern France.
This comes almost three years after a similar attack in Paris.
Extremism in French Schools
On 13th October 2023, Islamic extremist Mohammed M fatally stabbed Professor of French Dominique Bernard and severely wounded three other staff members at the Gambetta secondary school in Arras.
Mohammed M, a 20-year-old Russian-born asylum seeker who previously attended the school he targeted, had his asylum request rejected last year. According to police, he declared his hatred for France during the investigation and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. He was on a state-watched list of people known as a potential security risk.
“Attacks have left the whole country wondering why schools and teachers have become a target for terrorists.”
Mohammed M was indicted on 17th October on several charges, including murder and attempted murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise and criminal terrorist association for the attack on October 13.
Two other members of his close circle have been indicted in relation to the attack, including his 16-year-old brother.
https://twitter.com/France24_en/status/1712902529413955923
The attack occurred almost exactly three years after the shocking murder of another teacher, Samuel Patty. Patty was beheaded by a radicalised Chechen extremist on 16th October 2020, in Paris.
Such attacks have left the country wondering why schools and teachers have become a target for extremism.
Why Are Extremists Targeting French Schools?
Journalist and essayist Carine Azzopardi said that schools have been targeted because they symbolise the State. They represent a competing vision of the world to Islamic extremists.
“It is possible that the school system was once again targeted because the State stood firmly against the abaya [an Arabic dress recently banned from French schools]. The situation in the Middle East might be another source of motivation.”
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin stated that the attack may have been motivated by the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.
Responses To 13th October Attack
Following the attack, other schools, museums and cultural landmarks — such as the Louvres and the Palace of Versailles — received bomb threats.
President Emmanuel Macron ordered 7,000 soldiers to be mobilised around French schools for additional security.
“We did not have any proportionate support from our superiors in schools, classrooms or for pupils’ families.”
Aurélie F, a primary school teacher in the south of Paris, has felt anxious and bewildered since the attack. She struggled to address the topic with her pupils.
She said: “In the days after the attack, we received many emails of support from the State and trade unions, including a letter from Educational Minister Gabriel Attal, but we did not receive any guidelines on approaching this issue with our pupils. We felt helpless, and we did not have any proportionate support from our superiors in schools, classrooms or for pupils’ families.”
Solene G, an English teacher based in the north of Paris, had an ‘open door’ event planned for the day after Dominique Bernard’s murder. Her superiors chose to run the event despite the shock and fear the school staff still felt.
She said: “It was technically possible to maintain the event, but was it right on moral and solidarity grounds, and was it quite decent to carry on with it during a [period of] grief?”
A System In Crisis
The school system in France has been experiencing an internal crisis. This has been marked by decreasing educational standards, a need for equal opportunities, and a decreasing number of teachers due to the declining attractiveness of the job.
Solene believes this crisis has contributed to weakening the school system.
She said: “Obscurantism is quickly spreading in some areas with the help of social media, and the school system is struggling to cope.
In the past, it was the school’s responsibility to ‘explain’ and ‘demonstrate’, but now, the school is sometimes required to ‘prove’ (i.e. simple facts like “the earth isn’t flat”) and ‘justify itself’.
Despite the turmoil, obscurantism and contempt, many of us fight to preserve our passion for this profession. It is obvious that more and more teachers leave the job.”
The names of interviewees have been modified for anonymity purposes.
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Featured image courtesy of Allan Rostron via Flickr. No changes have been made to this image. Image license found here.
