Large demonstrations have occurred across France in response to the beheading of a teacher earlier this week. Samuel Paty, a 47-year-old history teacher was targeted after showing an image of the prophet Mohammed in class as part of a discussion on freedom of expression.
A huge demonstration took place in Paris after citizens were called upon by the Charlie Hebdo team. 12 people who work for Charlie Hebdo were murdered in 2015 after the magazine printed a satirical picture of the prophet. Many of the demonstrators carried signs that read 'Je suis Samuel' and 'Je suis Prof', 'I am Samuel' and 'I am a teacher' in homage to the demonstrator's calling card of 'Je suis Charlie' that became widespread after the Charlie Hebdo attack.
The perpetrator has been identified as an 18-year-old Chechen refugee named Abdoullakh Abouyezidovitch A. who arrived in France as a child in the 2000s. He was shot and killed by French police who responded to the attack. It is thought he had fired at police with an air rifle as they approached him.
Paris police confront and shoot the decapitation attack suspect
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Before authorities could arrive at the scene of the crime the killer took a picture of Mr. Paty's dead body and posted it on Twitter along with the words:
"I have executed one of the dogs from hell who dared to put Muhammad down."
11 others have been arrested in connection with the attack, including those who are thought to have orchestrated an online hate campaign against Mr. Paty. It was revealed later by French security services that the half-sister of the perpetrator had joined ISIS a number of years ago.
French Education Minister, Jean-Michel Blanquer, said of Mr. Paty:
"Samuel Paty embodied our Republic's most noble asset: its schools. He was cowardly murdered by enemies of freedom. We will be united, firm and resolute."
France is a famously secular country meaning that religion can not be allowed to impact the institutions of the state such as the education system. The nation has also been rocked by a large number of terror attacks over the last decade.
These include the 2012 attack on a Jewish school in Toulouse that killed 7, the 2015 Charlie Hebdo killing spree that in total killed 17 over 3 days, the 2015 Bataclan nightclub attack in Paris that killed 131, the 2016 Marseille attack using an articulated lorry that killed 86, and the 2018 Strasbourg market attack that killed 5. That is not to mention the dozen of other attacks that resulted either in only injuries or a lower number of deaths. Almost 300 French citizens in total have been murdered and over 1,000 wounded.
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