French principal receives death threats for telling student to remove hijab

• Published date: 29 March 2024
• Author: WALLA!
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attel said the country would sue the girl for lying and claiming the principal attacked her during the argument, which led to threats against him on social media

"I have finally made the decision to resign from my position due to concerns for my safety and that of this institution," the principal wrote in an email he sent last Friday to his colleagues at the Maurice Ravel high school in the 20th arrondissement of Paris. The teacher's name has not been disclosed to the public for protection.

"I'm leaving after seven years, rich and intense, that I spent by your side and after 45 years in public education," added the principal, who thanked his colleagues for the support they showed him over the last three weeks.

The incident occurred on February 28, when the principal told three female students to obey the law and remove their head coverings. Two of them complied with his instructions, but the third did not. In the following days, the principal received death threats on social media, which the school forwarded to the Interior Ministry's hotline.

The authorities arrested two suspects in connection with the threats. Their identities remain undisclosed, but the Education Ministry said they are unaffiliated with the school. Due to concerns about violence from extremist elements, the police began patrolling around the educational institution, and the Education Minister, Nicole Belloubet, visited it.

Police discovered no evidence of attack

The police found no evidence that the principal attacked the girl, and the Prime Minister promised that she would stand trial for false accusations.

"The state will always stand by these public figures, those who are at the forefront of the fight against such assaults on secularism, against attempts by Islamism to infiltrate our educational institutions," said Attal, who led the ban on the wearing of the burqa...