On the first day of the school year, Caroline Grandjean, a school
principal in Cantal, took her own life after months of lesbophobic
harassment. Beyond horror and sadness, there is anger: anger toward the
educational institution that added the violence of indifference to those
already suffered. Because her suicide, as brutal as it was, comes as no
surprise to anyone. Before her death, the teacher had repeatedly
expressed the feelings of abandonment and humiliation she felt toward
the National Education system. Our support goes out to her wife and
loved ones.
It all began in December 2023, when the sign "Dirty Lesbian" was
discovered in the school. The principal alerted the inspectorate, but
received only the response that she must "remain professional." She took
a few days off work and filed a complaint against the crow for the first
time-five complaints were filed in total, all of which went unanswered.
In March 2024, after a note reading "Dyke = pedophile" appeared, the
inspector quickly called her "to make her understand that she shouldn't
have taken a leave of absence, so that the school could continue to
run." At the end of the month, a death threat was discovered in the
school mailbox. The academic director suggested transferring her far
from home, "for her protection."
In early 2025, the teacher contacted comic book author Christophe
Tardieux, aka Remedium, who was collecting testimonies from school
principals in distress. When her story was published in the album Cas
d'école, the French National Education system went so far as to file a
defamation complaint against the author, a procedure during which
Caroline Grandjean was summoned to the police station as a witness-an
additional humiliation[1].
A hetero-patriarchal institution
How could anyone be surprised that, after so much minimization,
prevarication, and even dissuasion from the institution, the school
principal finally decided to put an end to her ordeal? How could anyone
be surprised when this comes on top of the lack of response from
colleagues, the students' families, and the city council? Rather than
protecting its officials from homophobic violence, the French National
Education system prefers to assume its role as a crushing machine.
Similar cases in schools, while not always fatal, occur too frequently
for us to consider them simple failures of the system. We can talk about
teachers, but we mustn't forget the rest of the staff, and of course the
students-in recent years, we think of the suicides of Lucas, Dinah, and
Avril. These various victims all have in common the fact that they are
LGBTI, that they asked for support, and that they didn't receive enough.
Caroline Grandjean's death moves me all the more because it brings me
back to what I experienced at the training center where I taught. The
summons by the director who asked me "not to be provocative," the
misgendering and refusal of my superiors to use my chosen first name,
which ultimately led me to resign. Homophobia and transphobia in the
National Education system, and more generally in the field of training,
are systemic. Teachers are expected to convey the values of the Republic
and uphold their duty of neutrality-and by neutrality, we mean, among
other things, not contravening the cis-hetero norm.
Faced with institutional violence, many hide and decide to endure the
closet in silence. Others, like Julia Torlet, a teacher and president of
SOS Homophobie, take the risk of being visible and offer LGBTI students
role models with whom they can identify and speak out[2].
For my part, I believe that the National Education system should
consider LGBTI teachers as an opportunity rather than an embarrassment.
Not out of some hollow liberal principle of diversity, but because we
are on the front lines of awareness of the different forms of oppression
that permeate the institution. At a time when reactionaries seek to
impose their authoritarian and traditionalist vision, it is more time
than ever to move towards an education that takes social violence into
account rather than making it invisible. Organizing ourselves to
politicize education is urgent: resources are being developed to raise
awareness and train staff[3].
So that schools are no longer places of suffering but spaces of care. So
that victims can stop being victims.
Johanna (UCL Antipatriarchy Commission) Validate
[1]See the article "Suicide of Caroline Grandjean: the endless
harassment of a school principal," Libération, September 2, 2025.
[2]Opinion piece, "National Education doesn't want to see queer
teachers, so let's show that we exist," Libération, September 12, 2025.
[3]See, for example: Queereducation.fr.
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Suicide-de-Caroline-Grandjean-L-Education-nationale-fait-une-nouvelle-victime
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
principal in Cantal, took her own life after months of lesbophobic
harassment. Beyond horror and sadness, there is anger: anger toward the
educational institution that added the violence of indifference to those
already suffered. Because her suicide, as brutal as it was, comes as no
surprise to anyone. Before her death, the teacher had repeatedly
expressed the feelings of abandonment and humiliation she felt toward
the National Education system. Our support goes out to her wife and
loved ones.
It all began in December 2023, when the sign "Dirty Lesbian" was
discovered in the school. The principal alerted the inspectorate, but
received only the response that she must "remain professional." She took
a few days off work and filed a complaint against the crow for the first
time-five complaints were filed in total, all of which went unanswered.
In March 2024, after a note reading "Dyke = pedophile" appeared, the
inspector quickly called her "to make her understand that she shouldn't
have taken a leave of absence, so that the school could continue to
run." At the end of the month, a death threat was discovered in the
school mailbox. The academic director suggested transferring her far
from home, "for her protection."
In early 2025, the teacher contacted comic book author Christophe
Tardieux, aka Remedium, who was collecting testimonies from school
principals in distress. When her story was published in the album Cas
d'école, the French National Education system went so far as to file a
defamation complaint against the author, a procedure during which
Caroline Grandjean was summoned to the police station as a witness-an
additional humiliation[1].
A hetero-patriarchal institution
How could anyone be surprised that, after so much minimization,
prevarication, and even dissuasion from the institution, the school
principal finally decided to put an end to her ordeal? How could anyone
be surprised when this comes on top of the lack of response from
colleagues, the students' families, and the city council? Rather than
protecting its officials from homophobic violence, the French National
Education system prefers to assume its role as a crushing machine.
Similar cases in schools, while not always fatal, occur too frequently
for us to consider them simple failures of the system. We can talk about
teachers, but we mustn't forget the rest of the staff, and of course the
students-in recent years, we think of the suicides of Lucas, Dinah, and
Avril. These various victims all have in common the fact that they are
LGBTI, that they asked for support, and that they didn't receive enough.
Caroline Grandjean's death moves me all the more because it brings me
back to what I experienced at the training center where I taught. The
summons by the director who asked me "not to be provocative," the
misgendering and refusal of my superiors to use my chosen first name,
which ultimately led me to resign. Homophobia and transphobia in the
National Education system, and more generally in the field of training,
are systemic. Teachers are expected to convey the values of the Republic
and uphold their duty of neutrality-and by neutrality, we mean, among
other things, not contravening the cis-hetero norm.
Faced with institutional violence, many hide and decide to endure the
closet in silence. Others, like Julia Torlet, a teacher and president of
SOS Homophobie, take the risk of being visible and offer LGBTI students
role models with whom they can identify and speak out[2].
For my part, I believe that the National Education system should
consider LGBTI teachers as an opportunity rather than an embarrassment.
Not out of some hollow liberal principle of diversity, but because we
are on the front lines of awareness of the different forms of oppression
that permeate the institution. At a time when reactionaries seek to
impose their authoritarian and traditionalist vision, it is more time
than ever to move towards an education that takes social violence into
account rather than making it invisible. Organizing ourselves to
politicize education is urgent: resources are being developed to raise
awareness and train staff[3].
So that schools are no longer places of suffering but spaces of care. So
that victims can stop being victims.
Johanna (UCL Antipatriarchy Commission) Validate
[1]See the article "Suicide of Caroline Grandjean: the endless
harassment of a school principal," Libération, September 2, 2025.
[2]Opinion piece, "National Education doesn't want to see queer
teachers, so let's show that we exist," Libération, September 12, 2025.
[3]See, for example: Queereducation.fr.
https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Suicide-de-Caroline-Grandjean-L-Education-nationale-fait-une-nouvelle-victime
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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