Four years after the murder of history and geography teacher Samuel Paty by a radicalized Islamist as he was leaving his establishment, the Yvelines departmental council voted unanimously in favor of changing the name of the Bois d’Aulne school, where he taught, on Friday the 18th. of October. The establishment, located in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, will be renamed Samuel-Paty school.
This decision ratifies the votes of the institution and the municipal council of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. “By naming the Bois d’Aulne school Samuel-Paty school, we will embody the ideal of France, this republican hope of progress through knowledge, giving it the face of a humble, devoted and passionate man: the face of Samuel Paty »declared Pierre Bédier, president of the Yvelines department, during a public session.
The Yvelines department specifies in a press release that “The new university plates will be placed during a ceremony during the year”. The mayor of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, Laurent Brosse, declared after the municipal council vote that he wanted to wait for all the students who knew Samuel Paty to leave the establishment before changing the name of the school, as has been the case since the finals of June.
Parents of students deplore the lack of consultation
In an open letter published on Thursday, three Conflans parent associations (FCPE, PEEP and Alpec) regretted not having participated fully in the name change process, which had serious consequences for the students present at the time. “This decision-making without consultation turns the children of the Republic, today as four years ago, into the forgotten ones, those who have experienced the unthinkable”we can read in this letter addressed to the mayor of Conflans, the director of the school and the academic director of the National Education Services of Yvelines.
“We regret that the spirit of community and cohesion is so absent in this name change process, which in the end has a disembodied and administrative flavor”add parent-teacher associations. “We also regret that you did not take advantage of this last opportunity to form a company”they write.
Samuel Paty, a 47-year-old teacher, was stabbed and then beheaded on October 16, 2020 by Abdoullakh Anzorov, a refugee of Chechen origin. The 18-year-old, a radicalized Muslim, criticized him for showing caricatures of Muhammad in class. Before being killed by the police, he took responsibility for his actions by congratulating himself for having “avenged the Prophet”.
