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A criminal investigation has been launched in France after a teacher was secretly filmed beating a three-year-old girl at a Paris nursery.
An unidentified liquid is also believed to have been sprayed in the little girl’s face as she screamed “Mommy!”
The video, made public by a lawyer, has caused shock and outrage across the country.
The alleged assault occurred on Tuesday, September 3, the first day of school at the Frères-Voisins (Neighborhood Brothers) school in the 15th district of the city.
An unidentified teacher can be seen standing over the screaming and crying baby before hitting her on the back, causing her to fall to the ground.
Vanessa Edberg, an attorney representing the parents of the girl who posted the video on Twitter X, said Tuesday: “It was not a beating. He hit her in the back. What happened is extremely serious.”
The alleged assault occurred last Tuesday, September 3, the first day of the school year at the Frères-Voisins (Brothers Neighbors) school.
An unidentified teacher can be seen standing over the screaming and crying baby before hitting her on the back, causing her to fall to the ground.
The teacher is also alleged to have grabbed a small bottle and “sprayed an unidentified product in her face,” Edberg added.
Ms Edberg said the girl and the rest of her family were “extremely traumatised” and a complaint had been sent to police and prosecutors.
He said the incident was secretly recorded by the mother of another child, who was in the classroom all day.
The girl’s father told Le Parisien newspaper: “My daughter had been beaten before, that’s why she was having a crisis and the mother who was there decided to film discreetly.”
After receiving the blow, the little girl was sent to the corner and continued to scream ‘Mommy!’.
After the liquid was allegedly sprayed, the professor is heard saying: ‘Oh, really?’
The teacher also tells the girl: “You’ll see, your dad will come back when I tell him.”
The parents were unaware of the video, but the woman who recorded it handed it over after two days.
The teacher is also alleged to have grabbed a small bottle and “sprayed an unidentified product in her face.”
The school (pictured) is located in the 15th arrondissement of Paris.
Philippe Goujon, mayor of the 15th district of Paris, said: “This happened the day after the start of the school year. The teacher was arrested and immediately replaced.”
“We went straight to file a complaint,” said the father, who claimed that his son had also been “pushed by this teacher” when he was at the school two years ago.
The teacher was said to be “on sick leave” Tuesday while awaiting interviews by law enforcement, a school spokesman said.
“The teacher acknowledged the facts and apologized to the family,” the spokesman said.
In France, aggravated assault of a child under the age of 15 is a crime punishable by imprisonment.
Philippe Goujon, mayor of the 15th district of Paris, said: “This happened the day after the start of the school year. The teacher was arrested and immediately replaced.”
The school, which has about 200 students, is in a residential neighborhood, he said, adding: “We’re talking about a thousand houses, it’s a tough neighborhood.”