Overcoming the fear of COVID-19, tens of thousands of French people rallied in the capital, Paris and other cities in solidarity for a teacher who was beheaded.
France which has seen over 33,300 confirmed COVID-19 deaths, has put aside the fear of the pandemic and took onto roads for protesting against the murder which is purely based on the religion. The demonstrators held posters displaying
No to totalitarianism of thought,
Some recited by saying: ” Freedom of expression, freedom to teach.”
Prime Minister Jean Castex, on Sunday, tweeted
Vous ne nous faites pas peur.
Nous n’avons pas peur.
Vous ne nous diviserez pas.
Nous sommes la France ! pic.twitter.com/GjUQo9AePa— Jean Castex (@JeanCASTEX) October 18, 2020
Meaning of the above tweet is:
You do not scare us.
We are not afraid.
You will not divide us.
We are France!
Paris demonstration on Sunday was joined by Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo and junior interior minister Marlene Schiappa.
President Emmanuel Macron has ordered a high-level enquiry into the death as the situation is worsening and heading towards racism in the country.
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The issue started after a school teacher, Paty was beheaded by an 18-year-old Chechen Abdullakh Anzorov for showing the cartoons to his civics class. Later, Anzorov was shot dead by police after confirming through a self-recorded message confessing to Paty’s murder on his mobile.
According to Paty’s school authorities, Paty had given Muslim children the option to leave his classroom before showing the cartoons so that their feelings do not get hurt.
Depictions of the prophet are widely regarded as taboo in Islam.
An online campaign was started against Paty by the father of a school girl. Police have started a detailed investigation and already 11 people were arrested in this connection.