French Teachers Stage Walkout Over Controversial Renaissance Painting Incident

Education Minister promises disciplinary action against students making false claims, amidst teachers' fears for safety and deteriorating discipline at school.

• French teachers at the Jacques-Cartier Middle School in Issou staged a walkout after Muslim students and parents complained about a Renaissance painting depicting nude women shown in class.
• The painting, 'Diana and Actaeon' by Giuseppe Cesari, was shown during a French class, leading to some students feeling offended and alleging the teacher made racist comments.
• Education Minister Gabriel Attal visited the school and announced that disciplinary action would be taken against the students who made false claims about the incident.
• The teachers' walkout and fears for their safety come in the wake of recent murders of French teachers by Islamic extremists, including the 2020 beheading of Samuel Paty who had shown cartoons of Prophet Mohammed in a class discussion.
• Teachers have expressed a lack of support and a deteriorating discipline at the school, with the head teacher recently asking the education ministry for more staff and resources.

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