Last Sunday, thousands of Parisians gathered at the Place de la Republique in tribute to Samuel Paty, a school teacher who was beheaded by an Islamist extremist in front of his school.
On Friday, October 16th, Paty was assaulted by 18-year-old Abdoulakh Anzorov, who was waiting for him outside the school's entrance. Anzorov reportedly drove 50 miles from his home to attack Paty after reading online a parent's grievance with Paty for using an allegedly disrespectful image of the Islamic prophet Muhammed.
Paty had used satirical cartoons published by the magazine company Charlie Hebdo in his classes. Charlie Hebdo has recently been attacked by Muslim extremists as well for their cartoons in 2015. The terrorist attack inspired mass protests and demonstrations at the time, and it seems that a similar sentiment of outrage and horror has followed Paty's murder.
Demonstrators marching down the Place de la Republique chanted "Je suis enseignant!" or "I am a teacher!" The protests were echoed as well in cities other than Paris. Protestors gathered in Lille and Place Bellecour in Lyon holding signs that stated "I am Samuel."
As of this moment, the French President, Emmanuel Macron, is declaring this tragedy an "Islamic terrorist attack." Authorities have since arrested 11 individuals to be questioned about the attack, and report 231 "radicalized" nationals will be deported.
