In Mouscron, all schools, from nurseries to secondary establishments, have received measures to be put in place this Thursday. “Following what we have heard, we remain active. With our police commissioner, we decided to contact all the schools. We ask them to close all exits and, if necessary, not to bring children out into the playground. We have chosen caution and prevention, but we do not want to scare people,” said Brigitte Aubert. The police presence near the schools was also noted; the mayor did not wish to confirm the deployment, but replied that it was “possible”.
Around 11:20 a.m., we learned that the measures in the entity’s schools had been lifted, in consultation with the police.
Reinforced police services
In Ath, Bruno Lefebvre confirms that the entity’s schools are not affected by the terrorist threat, however “reinforcements are planned at the police level”, specified the mayor.
On the other hand, in Lessines, the Athénée royal René Magritte received the threatening email which circulated in several secondary establishments. Pascal De Handschutter, informed of the situation, requested a police presence at the entrance to the Athénée this morning, when the students arrived. The establishment communicated on its networks that “thanks to the support of the entity’s law enforcement agencies, an access control system for the establishments has been put in place in order to provide as much security as possible and to allow a school day as serene as possible.”
Worried students returning home
At the Athénée royal Fernand Jacquemin de Comines, teachers who gave lessons in the second hour were required to keep the students in their rooms during the third hour and to lock the classroom. “No exits are authorized during this intercourse and during this third hour,” stipulated the agenda of the Athénée. “We received instructions from our hierarchy that an attack alert had taken place on educational establishments in Wallonia, specifies the prefect Quentin Bouttique. As there was a very specific time in the press release, i.e. between 9 a.m. 45 and 11 a.m., we took this measure to keep the students and teachers in the room they were in. Some students, worried, called their parents who, for some, wanted to come pick them up. Concretely, some remained and others leave. Everything is happening calmly.” The prefect wants to be philosophical even if he deplores that the courses are not given normally: “When we talk about security, we don’t joke. There is inevitably a phenomenon of psychosis. According to the police, there is practically no risk that an attack will happen to us, but we can never be 100% sure.”
At the Collège de la Lys, still in Comines, serenity is required: “We were warned of the threat and we checked that all the entrances were properly closed. Some parents did not send their children, but they “is a minority. The lessons were given normally”, explains Michaël Neyrinck, deputy director.
