A French nursery school teacher could face assault charges after footage went viral of her apparently “hitting” an upset three-year-old girl in class on her first day of school and pouring liquid on her head.
A lawyer for the parents released the disturbing film, shot on Sept 3 in the Frères Voisins nursery school in a deprived district of Paris’s 15th arrondissement.
In the video, the unnamed teacher can be seen apparently hitting the crying girl on the back before grabbing a bottle and pouring an unknown liquid over the distraught child.
The teacher can clearly be heard asking her: “There, does that make you feel better?”
“You’ll see, your daddy will come back when I tell him,” she adds.
Vanessa Edberg, the parents’ lawyer, posted the video of the scene on social networks with the message: “A teacher violently assaulted a little girl… and sprayed liquid on her head at a school in the 15th arrondissement of Paris.
“A complaint has been lodged. As a lawyer, I will fight this battle hand in hand with the family, but as a mother, my heart bleeds.”
“It wasn’t a spanking. She hit her on the back,’ said Ms Edberg. “What happened was extremely serious.”
Girl ‘had taken a blow beforehand’
After the incident, the girl was sent to the corner, continued to scream and cry, and called out for her “mummy” as the teacher looked on.
According to Le Parisien, the film was shot by the mother of another pupil who was in the classroom that day while the girl was crying after the incident.
The girl’s father told Le Parisien: “My daughter had taken a blow beforehand, which is why she was having a fit, and the mother who was present decided to film discreetly.”
It was the girl’s first day at school, according to her father.
The author of the video is said to have shown the victim’s mother, prompting her to file a complaint at the Issy-les-Moulineaux police station.
According to the local educational authority, the teacher seen on the video, who has been replaced and is currently on leave, has admitted the facts and apologised to the family.
The day after the complaint was made, she was spoken to by her school principal and the district inspector.
The Paris public prosecutor’s office said that it had not yet been informed of the complaint.
‘Shocking and unacceptable’
On Tuesday, Nicole Belloubet, the outgoing French education minister, called for disciplinary proceedings.
“These images are terribly shocking and unacceptable in our schools. I immediately requested the launch of disciplinary proceedings, with an immediate suspension of the teacher,” she said.
“I extend my full support to the victim and her family, who are receiving support.”
The girl’s father said: “We’re all extremely traumatised. I haven’t been able to sleep since it happened.
“Every time I close my eyes, I hear her cries echoing in my head. My daughter doesn’t dare leave the house anymore. It was her first day at school in her life. It’s a huge psychological blow for her.”