Bobigny, France, Oct 17 (AFP/APP):Well-liked and committed teacher Samuel Paty, who was beheaded by a teenager in a Paris suburb on Friday, enjoyed getting his students to debate issues such as freedom of speech. As part of a course in civics and morals this month, Paty, 47, showed the class cartoons of the prophet Mohammed — the most hot-button issue in France since the offices of the Charlie Hebdo magazine that published the images was attacked in 2015. But his lesson set off a new controversy which culminated in a crime that shook France, a country traumatised by a wave of Islamist violence and questioning its modern identity. The father of a pupil at the school was so outraged by the lesson that he demanded in a meeting with the school leadership that the teacher be dismissed and began a campaign on social media calling for him to go. The man published the teacher’s name and the school’s address on social media, insisting it was time to “say stop”. He also went with his daughter to the police to file a complaint against Paty. According to anti-terror prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard, initial evidence suggests that the perpetrator loitered outside the school … Continue reading ‘Monsieur Paty’: French teacher was popular professional