At the beginning of the video, the teacher approaches a child in the middle of a crying fit and slaps her hard. The little girl then screams “mommy, mommy…” and cries out, facing the teacher who at first does not react. After a few seconds, the teacher grabs an object and approaches the little girl. Apparently, it is a spray bottle with which the teacher sprays the child. Other students in the class watch the scene, impassive.
Great psychological injury
The newspaper “Le Parisien” contacted the girl’s father who explained : “My daughter had been hit before, that’s why she was having a crisis and the mother present decided to film discreetly.” The daily newspaper reports that on the evening of the incident, the little girl told her mother that she had been hit, but the latter thought she was exaggerating until she met another student’s mother two days later who showed her the video. The parents then went straight to file a complaint.
According to the Paris rectorate, the teacher has since been on sick leave and has been replaced. She has acknowledged the facts and apologized to the family. The rectorate adds that she will be summoned soon “to be informed of the follow-up action that will be taken.”
The fact remains that the little girl “no longer dares to leave the house. It was her first time going to school in her life. It’s a huge psychological wound for her,” the mother told Le Parisien. IQuestioned by the daily newspaperparents of students say they are “extremely traumatized.” “I can understand that you can be overwhelmed as a teacher. But hitting a child like that is unacceptable,” says one parent.
“Immediate suspension”
Lawyer Vanessa Edberg added to AFP: “The girl has already seen a doctor, and will see another one to assess her temporary disability. The first doctor assessed her psychological damage as “severe”, because the girl does not look others in the eye or face to face and refuses to talk about the teacher.”
