The President and Secretary-General of CESI have expressed their horror and disgust at the terrorist attack against a teacher in France.

Beyond the incommensurable human tragedy, this inconceivably abominable crime strikes us at our very foundation. Each and every terrorist attack underlines the challenges we face, and the strength we need, to fight for the maintenance of our values of freedom, and, as President Macron put it rightly, ‘for our right to believe or not to believe’.

I am deeply shocked by the unbelievable brutality, and it is now more than ever that we need to stand together to defend our freedom and democracy, our freedom of speech, our freedoms to believe – or not. As a pluralistic society, we must remain unconditionally intransigent towards any form of extremism, and, as a trade union confederation that also represents teachers, we highlight how crucial it is to protect those representing, conveying and teaching our values and principles”.

According to Klaus Heeger, Secretary General of CESI, the challenges for schools and teachers remain tremendous: “To face increasing violence, extremism and intolerance demands above all courage and dedication, belief and commitment, both towards our children and towards our societies. In their central role for society and our future, teachers deserve unconditional support from pupils, parents, citizens, media and politics. That is our vocation, now and in the future. This is the least we owe to the victim.”

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