French Prime Minister Jean Castex paid tribute on Saturday to history teacher Samuel Paty a year after he was murdered by an Islamist radical, saying France would stand up for its values of secularism and freedom.
Paty's attacker, a teenager of Chechen origin, had wanted to avenge the teacher's use of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in a class on freedom of expression for 13-year-olds. Muslims see any depiction of the Prophet as blasphemous.
"Here is a man who wanted to do his job, a demanding and sometimes thankless job, a man who only aspired to transmit the values of freedom, secularism, tolerance, free will ," Castex said after unveiling a commemorative plaque at the Ministry of National Education.A series of ceremonies in memory of Paty were organised on Friday and Saturday, with school children singing songs and holding minutes of silence in classes.
France, home to Europe's largest Muslim minority, has seen a wave of attacks carried out by Islamist militants or their sympathisers in recent yearsSign up for our newsletter Subscribe for our daily curated newsletter to receive the latest exclusive Reuters coverage delivered to your inbox.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Kaia Gerber’s French-Girl Daywear Is Now the Star of a Major CampaignA match made in Paris.
Read more »
France Ponders The Idea Of A 32-Hour Work WeekFrance famously has a legally mandated 35-hour working week, enshrined in law since 2000–but due to the pandemic, people are starting to reconsider the idea of a 32-hour, or four-day working week.
Read more »
Fan who caused Tour de France crash faces suspended sentenceProsecutors in the trial of a roadside spectator who caused a huge crash on the first stage of the Tour de France in June called on Thursday for a four-month suspended jail sentence, a lawyer for the riders' union said.
Read more »
RAI Com Sells Gabriele Mainetti’s ‘Freaks Out’ to France, Japan; CEO Talks Strategy (EXCLUSIVE)Italy’s RAI Com, which is the sales arm of Italian state broadcaster RAI, is scoring sales to key territories on Gabriele Mainetti’s “Freaks Out,” following the genre-bending film’s launch in…
Read more »
France sees the biggest spike in Covid cases since July – latest updatesFrance sees a spike in cases just as free testing for unvaccinated people ends. Other Covid19 updates: 🇺🇸 US to reopen borders to vaccinated travellers Nov 8 🇧🇷 Brazil sees 15,239 cases 🇲🇽 Mexico reports 434 more deaths For more:
Read more »
France sees spike in COVID cases just as free testing for unvaccinated endsFrance saw the biggest spike in new coronavirus infections since the end of July on the last day of free testing for unvaccinated people, health ministry data showed.
Read more »