French Children Arrested for Terrorist Threats Against Teacher in Classroom

The facts took place on Monday, November 2, when the four young students, during an educational session on pedagogical freedom, commented on the case of Samuel Paty, the history-geography teacher who was beheaded. According to the Chambéry prosecutor, Pierre-Yves Michau, the accused, three boys and a girl, made shocking statements and threatened their teacher: "the terrorist did well to do what he did. You too will die," the students had declared.

During the interrogation, which lasted several hours, the three boys acknowledged their wrongdoing and apologized; reports Francebleu. As for the girl, she was exonerated. In addition to the apologies presented, these children will be followed during their school career in collaboration with the departmental council, we are told. For the prosecutor, the families of the accused are not radicalized.

The families of the schoolchildren are Muslim but not radicalized, insists the public prosecutor, who specifies that there will also be criminal proceedings, to request remedial measures. This could lead to a warning and concrete actions such as a letter of apology or a reflection on the notion of respect and verbal violence.

On Twitter, the Ministry of the Interior reacted and justified the decision through a video, arguing that the children did not suffer any excessive use of force.