French teacher indicted after heated debate on religion

The website famille chrétienne and the French daily Le Figaro write about it.

After 24 hours in police custody, Frédéric Mortier spoke to several media outlets about these accusations, as the affair has taken on a national dimension. He said that it was a joke that his first-year student had misunderstood. "I mentioned to the students the fact that law is based on Christianity," the teacher explained to Le Figaro, specifying that his lesson was based on French law. "A debate ensued in the class on the subject of secularism, and I explained that France today owes a lot to its Christian history. In a Catholic school like the one I teach in, the teachers were priests or nuns until a few years ago." He is teaching at the Joseh- Wresinski vocational school in Angers.

Suspended

That's when things got out of hand, Mortier, who is also mayor of Longué-Jumelles, continues. "A student raised her hand to point to one of her classmates and told me that he was a Muslim, and I jokingly invited him to join the Catholics. The student then stood up, protested loudly, and refused to sit down despite my request. The class could not continue, and I continued to argue in front of the class, which lined up behind him as he called me names and accused me of being racist."

Informed of the incident, the headmaster Anthony Bélangé asked the educational adviser (a state official) to have the version of the two class delegates and the teacher written down, reports Le Figaro. "The testimonies of the delegates and that of the pupil converge", the headmaster said. "It is not a disciplinary sanction –I will take one, if necessary, against the student or the teacher, when the justice system has reached its conclusions– but a protective measure since he says he feels threatened, and it is a request from the ministry so that the investigation can proceed serenely", Bélangé told Le Figaro.

Not surprised

When the announcement of his indictment appeared in the press, several young people at the school who had not been aware of the incident until then said they were not "surprised". "He is a teacher who has his own opinions, who has often let us debate in class," one of his pupils told Le Figaro, adding: "But I don't understand why the pupil made a scandal whereas Mr Mortier is always respectful in his debates."

The situation today is "completely disproportionate, on a subject that should be dealt with in a school and only in a school", Fréderic Mortier regretted to radio channel RCF Anjou. "I have 27 years of experience behind me; I was headmaster of a Catholic secondary school myself. I don't understand what's going on," Mortier told RCF Anjou, adding to Le Figaro that he had "never been worried" about his comments until then.

Court

"This means that you cannot talk about everything as a teacher and that you can no longer use a tone of humour. It will pose a serious problem in the future for all teachers in this country," Mortier continued. For him, the magnitude of this affair is not only caused by a problem "internal to the school and that it will have to be resolved at some point", but also by his "political commitment". The mayor began his political career with the right-wing "Mouvement pour la France" (Movement for France), then became secretary-general of the conservative and moderately nationalistic "Debout la France" (Stand up France).

One can do anything to a local elected official, laments Mortier. "Even to the point of sacrificing his career, of putting his family in a very complicated situation." The teacher will appear in court on 4 May 2022. He has also filed a complaint against the student, whom he accuses of having used abusive language against him, and says he now fears for his "physical integrity".