Teachers and other supporters gathering in Lille in 2020 after the death of Samuel Paty, who was killed after showing his class caricatures of the prophet Muhammad as part of a lesson on free speech.Teachers and other supporters gathering in Lille in 2020 after the death of Samuel Paty, who was killed after showing his class caricatures of the prophet Muhammad as part of a lesson on free speech.
“The intelligence service was able to identify all these elements, there was no flaw in the collection of information. But the problem is was what was done with it. It’s as if there was a pause, where they waited to see if there’s going to be an act.” It was “totally obvious that he should be withdrawn … and benefit from protection”, she said.
She said there had been some progress, in that since her brother’s death threats to teachers had elicited a “fairly rapid reaction” from the authorities to protect them, but it was not enough. The headteacher said he was leaving “for his own safety and that of the school”, while the education authorities claimed he was leaving for “personal convenience” and taking “early retirement”. The pupil claimed the head had been violent towards her but the Paris public prosecutor’s office dismissed her complaint. Police are now investigating allegations of cyber-harassment linked to the death threats.