Teacher accused of blackmail

PARENTS of a pupil expelled from a lycée in the Avesnois area of the Nord have accused a teacher of having blackmailed them.

The parents claim the teacher extorted around €2,000 from them to keep silent about misbehaviour by their son – which the teacher denies.

The 53-year-old allegedly told them their son threw a paper pellet at his head, which had caused him to have headaches. He then allegedly called in the parents and demanded €10,000 from them so as not to make an official complaint.

After discussions, it is claimed that the sum dropped to €7,500 and the teacher had the parents sign a contract agreeing to pay €300 a month by money orders.

The payments are said to have started in June last year.

The child now having been expelled from the school for “laziness”, the father made the allegations against the teacher to the headteacher, who advised legal action, said France Bleu Nord.