A French teacher is living in fear after showing a 17th-century painting of nude women to a class of Muslim pupils, sparking a wave of online abuse and threats.
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The teacher, whose name has not been disclosed, showed the painting 'Diana and Actaeon' by Giuseppe Cesari during a French lesson at Jacques Cartier school in Issou, west of Paris, on Thursday.
The painting depicts a Greek myth in which the hunter Actaeon stumbles upon the goddess Diana and her nymphs bathing in a forest. The work, which is held at the Louvre museum in Paris, shows a naked Diana and four female companions.
Some of the pupils, aged 12 and 13, were offended by the painting and claimed that the teacher also made racist remarks to them. They then spread false accusations about the teacher on social media, triggering a backlash from some Muslim parents and activists.
The teacher has received death threats and insults, and fears for her safety. She has filed a complaint with the police and is being supported by the school and the education ministry.
Staff members at the school refused to work on Monday in protest of the situation, which they said reminded them of the murder of Samuel Paty, a history teacher who was beheaded by a radical Islamist in October 2020 after showing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad to his pupils.
Education Minister Gabriel Attal visited the school on Monday and condemned the online harassment of the teacher. He said that the pupils who made false claims about the teacher would be disciplined and that the authorities would not tolerate any attacks on the freedom of expression and secularism in schools.
He also praised the teacher for her courage and professionalism, and said that the painting was part of the French cultural heritage and had nothing to do with religion.
The incident has reignited the debate on the role of Islam in French society and the challenges of teaching in a multicultural environment. France has the largest Muslim population in Europe, estimated at around six million, and has faced several terrorist attacks by Islamist extremists in recent years.
The government has vowed to crack down on radical Islam and defend the values of the French Republic, including secularism, which separates religion and state. However, some critics say that the government's policies are stigmatizing Muslims and fueling discrimination and intolerance.
