The kidnapping and rape suffered by a schoolgirl a few meters from her school led the departmental councilors of the canton of Dijon 1 to make proposals relating to the security of the Montchapet district. Parents are also waiting for “a strong signal from the City of Dijon”.
Canton Dijon 1 is rich in educational establishments. In the Montchapet district alone are the four schools, college and high school of the Catholic education group Colysé, the hotel school and high school of the other Saint-Bénigne Catholic education group as well as several public structures ranging from the kindergarten to high school.
A dramatic situation has resurfaced the security issue around these establishments. On January 7 at around 10 a.m., an 11-year-old girl was kidnapped near the Saint-François-de-Sales college where she was educated in the sixth grade. Threatened by a man holding a knife, she is forced to get into a vehicle where she is raped, still near the college. Once released, the schoolgirl warns her teachers who alert the police.
On January 20, a 24-year-old man was arrested and taken into police custody. According to the prosecutor of the Republic of Dijon, he was confused by his DNA. The alleged perpetrator is then placed in pre-trial detention for rape of a 15-year-old minor and kidnapping or confinement. He faces a sentence of twenty years of criminal imprisonment.
“With a lot of children present, it attracts predators”
To address this issue of security around schools more broadly, the departmental councilors of the majority François-Xavier Dugourd (LR) and Danielle Darfeuille (independent) organized a press conference on Tuesday January 26, 2021 within the Lycée Notre- Lady.
Also in attendance were François-Xavier Hauberdon (Managing Director of the Colysé group), Doctor Jean Perrin (president of the Catholic Education Management Organization of the Colysé group) as well as representatives of parents of pupils from schools in the district Montchapet.
“The rape of which a young schoolgirl was the victim on January 7 (…) marked everyone’s mind, created a shock throughout the educational community, parents, in all the neighborhood and, beyond, throughout the city . It is really an extremely serious event ”indicates in the preamble François-Xavier Dugourd. “With a lot of children present, it attracts predators which, unfortunately, in our society are more and more numerous”, he analyzes. The departmental councilor welcomes “the work of the police with the justice system” and “the support work that has been done by the establishment”.
“There are security issues in the neighborhood that have been really recurring for a number of months or even a number of years. (…) There are things on a daily basis, in terms of both personal safety, i.e. physical security, but also in terms of trafficking, which is developing in the neighborhood, and then in terms of security road. The objective is to have a global vision of these problems and, from the observation to make a certain number of proposals to improve the situation, reassure the children, reassure the parents, reassure the inhabitants of the district as well, reassure the whole community. education which is in the sector, declares the elected representative of the Republicans.
“Nearly 7,000 students in an extremely small area”
By limiting themselves to the area of rue de Talant, rue Raoul de Juigné and the top of avenue Victor-Hugo, seven schools come together within a radius of 300 meters: lycées Notre-Dame and Saint-Bénigne, college Saint-François-de-Sales, Alix Providence nursery and elementary schools, Victor-Hugo nursery and elementary schools. This represents 4,200 students. Not to mention the Montchapet college and high school, hardly further away with their 2,000 students. “Nearly 7,000 students in an extremely small area, (…) there is a concentration that is unique in Côte-d’Or”, estimates François-Xavier Dugourd.
In addition, there are two retirement homes and new constructions linked to the renewal of buildings and urban densification. The whole influences the movement of people and in particular car traffic. “We see daily incivility, risk of accidents. (…) We also see a whole series of problems near schools: signage, non-compliance with the Highway Code, locations that are not respected, ”warns the departmental councilor. “There are really major problems both of physical attacks, but also of road safety and then of trafficking”, he insists.
“Take the security file in the neighborhood arm-the-body”
“It is absolutely necessary to take the issue of security in the district arm-the-body,” says François-Xavier Dugourd before making proposals. the two departmental advisers are asking for the development of video protection within educational establishments as well as around them.
The Department being in charge of the colleges, the departmental majority wishes to “improve the safety of the colleges”. Thus, the departmental councilor relayed François Sauvadet’s proposal to “participate in the financing of video protection equipment near colleges” and “to help the municipalities” including “the municipality of Dijon if it decided to set up a video camera. video protection near the college ”.
Video protection does not come under the competence of the Department but of each municipality. In Dijon, video protection installed by the City is managed by a department of the Metropolis (read our article on the Dijon Métropole information and operational watch center). Public tranquility is also the responsibility of the municipality, notably with its municipal police officers, while public security is the responsibility of the National Police.
“Pass the one-way street of Talant”
François-Xavier Dugourd proposes that “a global study be carried out on the evolution of road safety in the rue de Talant” which could lead to “crossing the rue de Talant in a one-way street” with the widening of the sidewalks and the development of ‘bicycle lane. The departmental councilors do not go so far as to propose a pedestrianization of the street because of the vehicles which go to schools and retirement homes. Consideration could be given to establishing a speed limit of 30 km / h in the sector in question.
Doctor Jean Perrin sees the “one way” as “a first step” because “one day, we will have a serious accident”. “Every morning, there are 3,000 cars which drop a child in front of the college, it is not tolerable. Children can walk fifty meters from the Bacquin quarries, I think it will give them a bit of sport in the morning, ”said the retired doctor.
“These problems have been recurring for over twenty years,” said Danielle Darfeuille, former school principal. “We have been asking for the school panel for three years,” adds Julie Bellegy, a relative of an elected pupil with children attending kindergarten and elementary Victor-Hugo.
“Video protection comes in addition to the human presence”
For his part, François-Xavier Hauberdon explains that a physical reception has been set up at the entrance of establishments “during peak hours”. Danielle Darfeuille reports the absence of personnel present at the surrounding pedestrian crossings to stop traffic and facilitate the crossing of children. “The town hall of Dijon has always refused that there is the same device in front of private establishments”, declares François-Xavier Dugourd.
As an establishment of Catholic education, a strengthening of surveillance by the municipal police was put in place by the City of Dijon following the assassination of the teacher Samuel Paty and the attack on Notre-Dame basilica in Nice, in October 2020. A vigil was also recruited temporarily for the meridian time.
Despite his twenty-eight years of service, François-Xavier Hauberdon has not experienced a situation of “dangerousness” equivalent to that linked to the concentration of establishments in Dijon. The director points out that, in the Colysé group, “video protection comes in addition to the human presence, (…) it is out of the question to make bunkers for our schools”. At peak times, reception staff are essential.
Video protection is nonetheless considered very useful for spotting “an intrusion” on the premises of the establishment or for monitoring access to boarding schools outside the usual attendance times. The Saint-François-de-Sales school and college as well as the Notre-Dame high school have been equipped with video protection in their enclosures for fifteen years.
Today there is equipment that can detect movement and follow a cause silhouette while a computer notification alerts the manager to differentiate a possible intrusion.
“Today, we have a huge need to reassure”
The installation of such equipment in the establishments of the Colysé group is “being quantified” but, according to François-Xavier Hauberdon, “it is priceless”. “The management body is not going to remain cautious in the face of the necessary investments in this context”, replies the doctor Jean Perrin, adding that “the importance of the safety of the children, it is a criterion of the acceptance of school ”. “Today, we have a huge need for reassurance,” insists the director, who anticipates the development of a feeling of insecurity among families.
“School is not a place of anguish, it is a place of life, a place of fulfillment (…) where we take pleasure in learning”, he indicates. “We are happy to learn that the Côte-d’Or departmental council is sensitive and will support us because it will first and foremost be the equipment necessary to protect and reassure families”, specifies the director. .
Parents are waiting for “a strong signal from the City of Dijon”
“Unfortunately, given the evolution of our society, the security needs will not decrease”, analyzes François-Xavier Dugourd who invites the municipalities and the regional council of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté to conduct a similar reflection, respectively to schools and high schools.
President of the association of parents of students of free education for colleges and high schools in Dijon, Faxier Franzin says he expects “a strong signal from the City of Dijon” and asks for the creation of a “committee” which would study itself the situation.
“We have known for many years that our streets and our neighborhood should be protected,” says Julie Bellegy. Audrey Lamb, parent of an elected pupil with a child attending Victor-Hugo elementary school and a child attending Montchapet college, adds that the assistant in charge of education had received a letter last November with on road safety issues.
Jean-Christophe Tardivon
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