PARIS, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Six teenagers go on trial behind closed doors on Monday, accused of involvement in the beheading of French history teacher Samuel Paty by a suspected Islamist in 2020 in an attack that struck at the heart of the country’s secular values.
The teacher had shown his pupils cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in a class on freedom of expression, angering a number of Muslim parents. Muslims believe that any depiction of the Prophet is blasphemous.
Once again, I want to reiterate that this is a crime and I’m not trying to excuse their behavior.
This isn’t one guy making fun of your mother. The sheer of scale is much greater. This is why I don’t think this is some grand plan to elicit fear from the French. This was six angry teenagers committing murder on a target picked out ahead of time.
It’s not about logic and ideals. It’s more of a matter of heart. Perhaps the solution isn’t one of laws but just teaching people to cope with anger better AND to deescalate a lot of the recent problems in France.