Parents release teachers after hostage taking
A group of dissatisfied parents have released several teachers they were holding captive inside a Catholic school in the south of France. They accused one of the teachers of incompetence and wanted him fired.
On Wednesday morning, parents released the headmistress and several teachers they were holding captive, after the local diocese agreed to fire the teacher in charge of the CM1 class (ages 9-10).
The "hostage-takers" alleged the children were falling behind in school and that the teacher, who was in his first year of teaching, was failing to maintain order in the classroom.
The headmistress of the Notre-Dame de Caderot school in the town of Berre l’Etang admitted relations with the teacher have been difficult. A new teacher is to instruct the CM1 pupils until the end of the year.
"We are relieved and we hope that the situation in the classroom and the school will calm down now," said one the of the parents, Elisabeth Planes, according to daily France Soir.
French Education Minister Luc Chatel has said he regretted the incident and said the education system had its failings. Trade unions representing teachers condemned the hostage taking and said the parents' methods were inconsiderate.
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