Furious row erupts in France as teacher is left in fear for her life after showing 17th century painting of nude women to Muslim pupils in art class

The attack on teachers at Jacques Cartier school in  Issou continues. Teachers withdrew their labour again yesterday; the French Education Minister Gabriel Attal visited the school in person on Monday and later said pupils who made the false claims would be disciplined and the English press are now reporting. The Times is behind the paywall but the Daily Mail has taken some of it. Also the Telegraph this evening

A furious row has erupted in France and left a teacher in fear for her life after she showed a 17th century Renaissance painting depicting nude women to pupils in art class, prompting complaints from Muslim parents.

Staff members at Jacques Cartier in Issou, west of Paris, refused to work on Monday in solidarity with the teacher who showed the masterpiece – ‘Diana and Actaeon’ by the Italian painter Giuseppe Cesari – in class on Thursday.

Following the class, false posts circulated on social media accusing the teacher of making racist comments, fuelling the anger further.

France’s Education Minister Gabriel Attal visited the school in person on Monday and later said pupils who made the false claims would be disciplined.

On Thursday, ‘during a French class, a colleague showed a 17th-century painting that showed naked women’, said Sophie Venetitay, secretary general of the Snes-FSU secondary school teachers’ union.

The name of the female teacher and false claims that she had made racist remarks to Muslim students were subsequently circulated on social media, reports said, raising fears that she could be targeted.

The school reportedly logged 10 incidents of discrimination or racism in the school term this year, according to French broadcaster BFM TV.

In reference to the furore, Venetitay told the channel: ‘We know well that methods like that can lead to a tragedy… We saw it in the murder of Samuel Paty.  ‘Our colleagues feel threatened and in danger.’

The painting was reportedly shown during an art class for students aged 12 and 13.

‘Some students averted their gaze, felt offended, said they were shocked,’ Venetitay said, 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, she said.

In an email sent to parents on Friday, teachers said they were exercising their right to stay away from classrooms over the ‘particularly difficult situation’ at the high school.

They described ‘palpable discomfort’ and ‘an increase in cases of violence’ as their daily reality.

Teachers said the students had admitted to making things up in posts online, that that it was too late to quell the anger. ‘We’re dealing with vindictive parents who prefer to believe their children than us,’ they said in a statement.

Teachers at the school said behaviour had been deteriorating even before the row, with students fighting and threatening rape.

‘We feel we are clearly in danger. We are supported by our direct superiors but not from higher up,’ one teacher told The Times. ‘This is a real call for help’.

Attal 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.