School Strike Looms in France After Director Receives Death Threats Over Gender-Based Supervision Request
A nursery school in Rennes, France, is bracing for a strike as educators rally in support of their director, who has been on sick leave since receiving death threats from a parent objecting to male teachers supervising his daughter. The incident, which occurred on October 10th, has ignited a debate over gender discrimination and the safety of school staff.
The dispute began when the father demanded his daughter be moved to a class with only female supervision, expressing discomfort with a male teacher caring for her. The school director refused, citing the establishment’s rules and a commitment to the values of the Republic, which emphasize equality. This decision reportedly prompted a barrage of abuse.
According to a press release from the school’s educational team, the father unleashed “serious threats, accompanied by comments amounting to sexist outrage, defamation and contempt.” He allegedly told the director to “be ready to go to prison if he had to attack him to win his case.” Ultimately, the school conceded to the parent’s request, reassigning the child to a class with all-female supervision.
“All because this family refuses to allow men to perform the same tasks as women in a nursery school,” lamented teachers at the school, which serves approximately 100 students. Mickaël Bézard, a departmental secretary for Snudi-Force Ouvrière Ille-et-Vilaine, characterized the situation as a clear case of “discrimination de genre,” explaining that the family believes “a man does not have to supervise young children” because it would be “somewhere worrying.”
Fabrice Lerestif, general secretary of Force Ouvrière d’Ille-et-Vilaine, clarified that the father invoked “personal reasons” during the confrontation, explicitly denying any religious motivation. This assessment was echoed by Minister of Education Edouard Geffray, who stated on Thursday that the incident was not religiously motivated and emphasized that “school is not the supermarket of individual demands.”
The director, described as being in a “state of shock,” filed a complaint with the Rennes public prosecutor’s office alleging threat of death. The prosecutor’s office has yet to respond to the complaint.
The delay in publicizing the incident stemmed from a period of internal deliberation among the school’s staff, according to Lerestif. “There has been a slow maturation in the educational team until today,” he explained, “to know what posture to adopt, so as not to fall into political recuperation.” A representative of parents of students, speaking to West France, confirmed being informed of the situation early on but said they were instructed by the management team to remain “discreet” pending a response from the regional academy.
The Rennes rectorate confirmed it was aware of the situation since October, stating that the family was “immediately summoned” and “admitted to having made threatening remarks.” The rectorate also filed its own complaint with the courts.
The educational team has now formally requested that the child be educated at another establishment, stating that “the bond of trust with this family is broken.” Following an initial rally on November 19th, the nursery school is scheduled to strike on Friday to demonstrate support for the director and to advocate for stronger protections for school staff. Lerestif anticipates the strike call will resonate with other schools in the region.
