Anne Genetet announces a minute of silence for Samuel Paty and Dominique Bernard (but not on October 7)

EDUCATION – The rectification is done. After announcing by mistake that middle and high schools would pay tribute to Samuel Paty and Dominique Bernard, teachers murdered during two jihadist attacks, on October 7, the Minister of National Education Anne Genetet indicated this Sunday, October 6 that he would have actually takes place in a week.

“For the tributes dedicated to Samuel Paty and Dominique Bernard, I will ask teachers in middle and high schools to observe a minute of silence whenever they wish during the day of October 14”detailed the minister in an interview published Sunday in the Parisian. “They will also be able to organize, if they wish, a time for discussion and reflection with their students”she added.

Friday, during her first interview on RTL, the minister announced “a time of contemplation” for October 7, the anniversary of Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel. The ministry backpedaled by specifying that it was a commemoration of the deaths of the killed teachers Dominique Bernard and Samuel Paty, planned for the following Monday.

Freedom of teachers for October 7

For October 7, “Teachers have their free decision to discuss the facts in class. They have educational resources at their disposal”said the minister.

Samuel Paty, a 47-year-old teacher, was stabbed then beheaded by Abdoullakh Anzorov, a Russian refugee of Chechen origin, on October 16, 2020. The 18-year-old young man, a radicalized Muslim, accused him of having shown caricatures in class of Mohammed. Before being killed by the police, he took responsibility for his actions by congratulating himself on having “avenge the prophet”.

The emotion caused by this attack was rekindled in France by the assassination, on October 13, 2023, of another professor, Dominique Bernard, killed in Arras, in the north of the country, by a young Islamist. A tribute had already been paid to the two teachers on October 16, 2023.

Uniform, level groups…

On the occasion of his interview at ParisianAnne Genetet said “need to protect the school budget” in the wake of the declarations of his predecessor Nicole Belloubet.

On the controversial experiment with wearing uniforms at school, the minister said “personally”, “rather in favor of the single outfit, that is to say one color on top and one color on the bottom”.

On the future of level/needs groups in college, it referred its decisions to the results of the evaluations of these systems. On the patent reform, she will announce her decision for the 2025/2026 school year “in the coming weeks”.