School harassment: Elizabeth Bourne’s comment sparks controversy

Elizabeth Bourne would have done without such consistency in the tense French political context between the war in the Middle East and the immigration bill. The Prime Minister went this Thursday to the Claude-Debussy College in Paris with Brigitte Macron, wife of the President of the Republic, and Gabriel Attal, Minister of National Education, as part of the national day against school bullying. A Matignon resident has come under fire after BFMTV published an excerpt of a conversation with a young, harassed student on social media.

“I’m very sorry that I asked this question,” the boy begins. I was being followed in elementary school and I asked the teacher if I could talk to my mother, but the teacher told me no, asks a young Parisian student. He adds, just before Brigitte Macron turns around: “This really shocks me. ” And in conclusion: “I don’t want to create problems (…) I just wanted to talk about it, whether it’s normal or not. »

The head of government then takes the young man’s microphone and answers him. “So this shows that it’s important to educate everyone,” she jokes with a smile to the audience of national educators present in the classroom, causing some to laugh. On social media, some have highlighted the Prime Minister’s lack of empathy. The criticism also sometimes became more political. “When the propaganda gets out of control, there is a terrible scene in which Brigitte Macron turns away from the victim of persecution and Bourne ends up laughing. The pattern of abuse is fueled by contempt,” emphasizes Alexis Poulain, a regular columnist for Sud Radio.

“There is no humanity, no understanding in the face of this kid, who courageously admits to school bullying. Madame Macron, who turns away when he exposes the bankruptcy of the system, Bourne’s little joke, devoid of any sympathy, what a shame! ” criticizes another social media commentator, Malek Delege.

As of this Friday morning, the video had been viewed nearly 8.9 million times on X (formerly Twitter), shared more than 2,000 times, and commented on nearly 1,000 times.

Faced with controversy, Matignon quickly tried to put out the fire of a seemingly innocuous scene. The Prime Minister’s Office condemned the “bad act”. “She listened to him to the end. This was such a strong testimony that some discomfort arose. Everyone was stunned. There was no desire to dismiss this testimony,” Matignon told BFMTV. . “On the contrary, the Prime Minister then spoke about it again in private[editor’s note, with the boy]still shocked by what this child said about his teacher’s reaction,” the Prime Minister’s communications service assured.

“Adults must listen, act, and not minimize.”

During this visit, Elizabeth Bourne effectively delivered the government’s message on school bullying. “Let’s not minimize what children go through,” Elizabeth Bourne said, also calling for a “revival” of the fight against harassment by launching a new national campaign aimed at raising awareness among adults so they can better hear the words of victims.

“We really need a collective start on this issue. We see that there are still too many adults who do not understand the extent and impact of oppression on our youth. We often hear These are quarrels between children, this is what age wants, this will pass “, the Prime Minister emphasized. “Adults must listen, act and not minimize” harassment, while young people “dare to speak up,” she added. Last year the campaign was aimed more at students with the question: “What if the other one was you? »

If young people “talk” it is because there is definitely something to it. We must dig and know what is behind it,” added Brigitte Macron. At the end of September, the Prime Minister unveiled an inter-ministerial plan to combat harassment, promising a “total mobilization”, now with a single call number 3018.