“What do you want me to say?” Questioned in the Senate by the elected environmentalist Mélanie Vogel about the suicide of the young Lucas in the Vosges, this 13-year-old teenager who committed suicide in early January in a context of bullying and homophobia, the Minister of National Education Pap Ndiaye had a hard time holding back tears while speaking.
“When a child ends his life, there are no words to express the emotion, the sorrow, the pain, there are no words. My deepest thoughts are with his parents, with his relatives, with his friends, ”he said, after all the problems in the world to contain a few sobs.
“I will follow this personally”
In the rest of his speeches, however, the Minister insisted on highlighting the policy put in place to fight bullying and homophobia, which is “a government priority”.
“Sexual orientation is usually a point of support for the perpetrators of harassment, the same occurs with other characteristics, such as physical appearance, origin, social status,” he recalled.
In response, Pap Ndiaye recalls that his ministry wants to “change the representations that fuel hate” by promoting “prevention” and “sex education”.
“That is why, last September, I took steps to make these teachings effective,” he adds.
“Regarding the fight against homophobia at school, I decided that groups for awareness, prevention and action against LGBTphobia should be generalized in each academy, and I will personally follow it,” he concludes.
Two open investigations
On Saturday, January 7, Lucas, just 13 years old, was found hanged at his home in Golbey, in the Vosges department. In his diary, he had mentioned his desire to end his life without referring to harassment, according to Épinal prosecutor Frédéric Nahon.
“We must be careful with the causal link,” warned the latter during a press conference held last Friday.
Pending the conclusions of the preliminary investigation opened for “harassment of a child under 15” and “bullying”, Pap Ndiaye had announced for his part the opening of an administrative investigation. The teen’s funeral was held Saturday in Golbey.
Source: BFM TV
