Muslim pupils who expressed outrage after their teacher presented a Renaissance painting of n*de women in class will be disciplined, France’s education minister has said
A French teacher at the multicultural Jacques-Cartier college showed students the painting Diana and Actaeon by the Italian artist Giuseppe Cesari, which portrays a Greek mythology story in which the hunter Actaeon sees the goddess Diana and her nymphs bathing.
The work, which depicts a n*ked Diana and four female companions, is held at the Louvre museum in Paris.
Sophie Vénétitay, secretary general of the Snes-FSU secondary school teachers’ union, said: “During a French class, a colleague showed a 17th-century painting that showed naked women.”
“Some students averted their gaze, felt offended, said they were shocked,” said Ms Vénétitay, adding that “some also alleged the teacher made racist comments” during a class discussion.
A pupil’s parent sent an email to the school director saying that his son was prevented from speaking during that discussion and that he would file a complaint.
“We know well that methods like that can lead to a tragedy,” Ms Vénétitay told BFMTV news. “We saw it in the murder of Samuel Paty. Our colleagues feel threatened and in danger.”
Teachers at the Issou school said that pupils admitted lying about events in their art class but that the damage had been done.
“We’re dealing with vindictive parents who prefer to believe their children than us,” they said.
Gabriel Attal, the education minister, visited the school in person on Monday and later said that a disciplinary procedure would be launched “against the students who are responsible for this situation and who have also admitted the facts”.
A team would also be deployed to the school to ensure it adhered to the “values of the republic”, he said.
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