A tweet triggers a polemic on the internet. It criticises the installation of barriers at the Lycée Jean Mermoz in Montpellier. These barriers made the reflective film on the windows at the entrance inaccessible, which allowed students to put their headscarves back on when leaving the high school. A criminal complaint was filed for death threats.
The tweet was called up more than 380 000 times and shared 650 times. A post on the X network (formerly Twitter) denouncing the erection of barriers in front of a reflective foil in front of which young girls were supposed to put back their veil, chador or abaya on the grounds of Mermoz High School triggered a wave of reactions on the internet. Reactions inciting hatred and violence.
“There were no problems within the high school,” explained the headmaster of Lycée Mermoz, who was contacted by France 3 Occitanie by telephone. “We ask the students to take off the veil outside the school grounds and to put it back on outside. This has been the rule since the 2004 law banning religious or conspicuous signs in schools.
Some students tended to cover themselves again inside when they passed this mirrored window. Barriers were put up to prevent this from happening again. Headmaster
Lycée Mermoz Montpellier
The decision, which became known per a tweet, triggered a wave of reactions on the net and especially threats against the staff and especially the senior teachers (CPE) of the high school. The headmaster filed a complaint on Thursday September 7 for “death threats and attacks against persons working in the public service”.
The previous day, the headmaster had made a Pharos warning, a government website for reporting illegal online content and behaviour.
This polemic occurred against the backdrop of the start of the school year and the Education Minister’s decision to ban the wearing of the abaya in schools. france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr