The former headteacher of a French school testified Tuesday about her failed attempts to protect Samuel Paty before the history teacher’s beheading by a Chechen refugee in 2020, revealing how a student’s lie sparked a chain of events ending in terrorism.
“I didn’t manage to protect him,” said Audrey F, who has since left France to teach in China. “It’s such an enormous waste.” She detailed to the Paris court how a 13-year-old student’s false claims about a freedom of expression lesson escalated into fatal violence.
The incident began when the student, identified as Z, had been suspended for absence and rudeness. She retaliated by falsely telling her parents that Paty had ordered Muslim students to leave while he showed “naked” images of the Prophet Muhammad. In reality, Paty had discussed three cartoons from a French satirical magazine, offering students the choice to look away if they might be offended.
The situation intensified when the girl’s father, Brahim Chnina, arrived at school with Islamist activist Abdelhakim Sefrioui, who claimed to represent French imams. They denounced Paty as a “thug” and demanded his removal. Both men now face charges of involvement in a “criminal terrorist” group and complicity in “terrorist murder,” among eight defendants on trial.
“By now I was very worried, not specifically for Mr Paty but for the school,” Audrey F testified, describing how the pair posted inflammatory videos online naming Paty and the school. Despite police protection and advice to stay home, Paty continued teaching until October 16, 2020, when 18-year-old Abdoullakh Anzorov killed him outside the school. Police shot Anzorov dead at the scene.
The murder, occurring five years after the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack, shocked France. The student who initiated the false claims has been convicted of making slanderous accusations, while five other teenagers were found guilty of preparing aggravated violence.
“I tell myself that if there is justice, perhaps I’ll manage to move on,” said the former headteacher, adding that nothing would have happened without the online videos posted by Chnina and Sefrioui. The defendants deny the charges while acknowledging their involvement in events leading to Paty’s death.
