The Ministry of the Interior is considering strengthening the security of all educational establishments in France.
After the terrorist attack perpetrated by a radicalized young man in the Carnot high school in Arras, the government wishes to consider new security measures to avoid this type of tragedy. Emmanuel Macron has already asked the prefects for a series of measures, starting with the more rapid examination of expulsion procedures for radicalized people.
As reported by AFP, the Head of State and the Minister of the Interior also want more “screening or support mechanisms for young people” who may be in contact with “a very radical culture of the practice of Islam”, by working “on stopping radicalization” and on “prevention”.
This week, the government is reactivating the listening system for National Education staff, which was put in place after the death of Samuel Paty, a psychological support unit is offered in each academy.
The executive also intends to consider the implementation of security measures of another magnitude in educational establishments. As reported The Parisian, the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of the Interior are considering the installation of heavy gantries, like those already deployed in 250 public establishments in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region: gantries or a watertight airlock monitored by a guard, whose objective is to strictly control entries and exits. As an example, the image below shows the cumbersome nature of the system deployed in a high school in the north of Isère.
No person can pass through the portico without a pass, and repeated omissions are punished. The region has also installed video surveillance devices in all high schools.
These large doors with sliding systems have been installed for decades in establishments where security is a priority objective, such as in penitentiary establishments. In the latter, other portals, such as portals with metal detection or body scanners, have made their entry in recent years.
Reactions to this heavy system, deployed in middle and high schools in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region since 2016, are less contrasted today and are relatively unanimous, with teachers increasingly considering that they provide better security. The establishments. Should we do more? “We are not going to put a police officer in front of each establishment, security guards or build watchtowers. Otherwise, our high schools will look like prisons,” already fears a teacher working in a general high school in Lyon, interviewed by Le Parisien.