Teachers walk out after fight about naked painting at French school

France’s education minister went to a school where some students didn’t want to see a painting of naked women. This made the teachers leave their work.

The students said their teacher made mean comments about race and Islam, but the school says it’s not true.

The teachers at Jacques-Cartier school near Paris said they didn’t want to work.

There were a lot of problems at the school since the beginning of the school year. Parents kept complaining about the work their kids had to do and the punishments given out.

The problem started when a teacher showed Diana and Actaeon, a painting from the Renaissance period that tells a story from a book called Metamorphoses.

Sophie Venetitay from the Snes-FSU teachers union said that some 11 and 12-year-old students in their first year of high school were upset by a painting made by Italian artist Giuseppe Cesari in the 17th century.

“Some students looked away, felt upset, and said they were surprised,” Ms. She also mentioned that “some students claimed the teacher said racist things” during a class conversation.

The day after, a French news source said that a parent sent a letter to the principal saying that their child was not able to talk during a class conversation.

Staff felt like they did not have enough help and were working in a bad environment, Ms Venetitay said.

She said that this case reminds her of the violent murder of Samuel Paty. He was killed after showing drawings of the Prophet Muhammad in a class.

The French government thinks that false stories about the teacher caused an 18-year-old Chechen refugee who had been radicalized to kill him near the school in a Paris suburb. Six teenagers were found guilty of being involved in the murder last week.

Education Minister Gabriel Attal said that students who made complaints at Jacques-Cartier school will be punished, and a team will check the school to make sure it follows the rules of the country.

On Tuesday, the school started classes again after being closed for a few days.