In a speech honouring the slain teacher at a ceremony at the Sorbonne University in Paris, Macron described Paty as "one of those teachers who will not be forgotten”.
Paty's coffin stood in the centre of the university courtyard, adorned with French flags, as pupils, a friend, and a fellow history teacher paid moving tributes to the 47-year-old father of one.
Nous continuerons, professeur.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) October 21, 2020
Paty, who taught history and geography at a junior high school in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, 40 kilometres northwest of Paris, was gruesomely killed on Friday by 18-year-old Chechnya-born Abdullakh Anzorov. Paty became the subject of an online hate campaign after he showed cartoons of the Prophet Mohamed to pupils in a civics class on freedom of expression.
The killing sparked widespread revulsion throughout the country, prompting a government crackdown on Islamist groups. “Our fellow citizens expect action,” President Macron had said on Tuesday evening.
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On Sunday, French Prime Minister Jean Castex, in an interview with a weekly magazine, said he was “more Charlie than ever”, referring to the “Je suis Charlie/I am Charlie” slogan that resonated around the world after Islamist terrorist killed 12 people at the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in 2015 for publishing caricatures of the prophet.
- with AFP
