Samuel Paty, a history and geography teacher at the Bois d’Aulne middle school in Conflans Sainte-Honorine, was beheaded in front of his school by an 18-year-old. This act was claimed in the name of Islam.
In Garibaldi Square in Nice this Saturday, hundreds of people gathered to pay tribute to him.
This Sunday, gatherings took place in the capital and in many other French cities.
It is difficult just a few days after this event to go much further and draw final conclusions, as some are doing.
There are many warmongers. For several years now, “attacks on secularism” have been highlighted, which need to be considered and require responses.
It is not about denying the reality of the facts and the threat. But we must also refrain from falling into the trap of overgeneralization and war metaphor.
There would be nothing worse than seeing a potential threat in everyone and everywhere. This is what those who promote this ideology of death seek.
The vast majority of citizens do not adhere to this discourse.
It is not a matter of “naivety” — as some say, but of the optimism of the will, the belief in the power of the educational act, and the firmness of the State to assert and uphold the values of the Republic and democracy.
Likewise, we must not give up on the necessity to educate our students at school with a critical spirit.
Are there lost territories of the Republic? No, we must avoid this feeling of abandonment because it is on this ground that violence, fanaticism, and Muslim radicalism thrive.
These territories are very much alive and enriched by the diversity and tolerance that must be patiently built to bring the republican promise to life.
“Democracy is not about recognizing equals but making them,” said Gambetta.
