French teachers strike following nude painting row in school
Giuseppe Cesari’s 17th-century Diana and Actaeon painting is at the heart of an art censorship row in France after a school showed the artwork to students.
Cesari’s nude scene was shown to students aged from 11 to 13 at the Jacques Cartier school near Paris. A few members of the class turned away from it, saying their religious beliefs forbade it.
Sophie Venetitay from the Snes-FSU teachers union explained to French broadcaster AFP: “Some students averted their gaze, felt offended, said they were shocked.”
Rumours began to swirl on social media that the teacher had singled out Muslim students, which the school denies. Others alleged she had made racist comments, and her name was widely shared online, with some parents complaining about the inclusion of the painting in the art appreciation class.
The incident comes just three years after a French teacher, Samuel Paty, was killed after showing a Charlie Hebdo drawing in a class on free speech, which exacerbated tensions the painting caused.
In solidarity with the teacher who showed the paintings, other staff at the school went on strike. In a letter to France’s Director of National Education Services, they note that they were experiencing “acts of slander, a multiplication and aggravation of incidents, and an attack on secularism.”
Earlier this week, Gabriel Attal, the French Minister of Education, visited the school. He said the students involved would be disciplined, and a team would be attending the school to ensure it reflected the “values of the republic”.
The school has been promised more staff to help deal with the increased hostility rising up in classrooms.
