British Netflix series Adolescence on online violence to be shown in French schools
France’s Minister of Education made the announcement yesterday (June 8), while discussing young people’s relationship with social media
Minister Élisabeth Borne was initially reluctant to show Adolescence in French schools
Victor Velter/Shutterstock
French Education Minister, Élisabeth Borne, has announced (June 8) that UK Netflix series Adolescence, which highlights the dangers of online violence, will be shown in French collèges.
Five educational extracts from the show will be used alongside other teaching materials to help raise awareness of the problems linked to young people’s “overexposure to screens and the normalisation of violence” on social media, said Borne on French news channel, LCI.
The four-part fictional series was released on March 13 and tells the story of 13-year-old Jamie who is accused of stabbing a fellow student. Themes also include the propagation of misogynistic trends that incite violence against women and girls.
The extracts will be shown to pupils of at least quatrième level, who are roughly the same age as the series’ teenage protagonist.
UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has already decided to make the series available to screen for free in British classrooms, to stop boys from being dragged into a “whirlpool” of misogyny.
Borne was initially reluctant to bring Adolescence into France’s schools, saying in April that there are equally good French series illustrating the same issues. Yesterday’s announcement that screening rights have been granted by the show’s producer indicates a shift in her strategy.
Read also: Child health booklets in France will be updated to include risks of screen time
Online petition
The decision comes after Laëtitia Curetti, who has a 13-year-old son, wrote to Élisabeth Borne and launched an online petition to have the series shown in secondary schools across France.
Her petition, published on April 10, gained over 18,000 signatures.
Ms Curetti, who lives in the department of Rhône, believes the series could be an “excellent educational tool” to raise awareness of the dangers of social networking, sexism, bullying and violence in schools.
Violence in French schools
The discussion surrounding knife crime has increased since the success of the series in France, and further amplified after a 16-year-old stabbed four fellow students at lycée Notre-Dame de Toutes Aides in Nantes (Loire-Atlantique) on April, 24.
The attack took place despite new school safety measures being announced in February, allowing police officers to randomly search students’ belongings.
Ms Borne was also asked to comment on the problem of anti-Semitism in schools during her LCI interview, after walls outside école primaire Louise-Michel in Le Havre (Seine-Maritime) were sprayed with antisemitic tags last Thursday (June 6).
She said her ministry would “update the guidelines for school principals and teachers to respond to new forms of anti-Semitism”.
