In October 2021, the first anniversary of the death of Samuel Paty, a teacher beheaded by an Islamist terrorist, there were many tributes and some incidents in schools in France. In Valence (Drôme), a pupil had shouted “Allah Akbar” during a minute’s silence, France Bleu reported. The 11-year-old had apologised, but his father had praised him and then threatened the school staff. On Thursday January 20, he was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years, and banned from showing up at school.
“The accused, Hamid A, had retired as a young man. A, a 40-year-old man who was then a night watchman and is now unemployed. When informed of his son’s behaviour, he had threatened to set fire to the school or staff members’ cars and announced violence. During the trial, he justified his behaviour with the racism he blames on the education system and explained that he had feared that his son would be “branded as a terrorist”, recorded or imprisoned. The man affirmed that he condemned the murder of Samuel Paty, but also the tributes to him, and defended himself against the accusation of an ideological motivation, as France Bleu reports.
“The problem is your foolish behaviour,” the presiding judge countered, while the lawyer for the joint plaintiffs criticised the defendant’s unwillingness to question his behaviour. His conviction was combined with a commitment to treatment and 700 EUR in damages for the three threatened teachers.