French kindergarten teacher is filmed “hitting” a three-year-old girl

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A French kindergarten teacher is facing assault charges after footage circulated online of her “hitting” an angry three-year-old girl in class on her first day of school and pouring liquid on her head.

A lawyer for the parents released the disturbing film, which was shot on September 3 at the Frères Voisins kindergarten in a disadvantaged neighborhood in the 15th arrondissement of Paris.

The video shows the unnamed teacher apparently hitting the crying girl on the back before grabbing a bottle and pouring an unknown liquid over the distraught child.

You can clearly hear the teacher asking her: “Well, are you feeling better now?”

“You’ll see, your daddy will come back when I tell him,” she adds.

Vanessa Edberg, the parents' lawyer, posted the video of the scene on social media with the message: “A teacher brutally attacked a little girl in a school in the 15th arrondissement of Paris… and sprayed liquid on her head.”

“A complaint has been filed. As a lawyer, I will fight this battle hand in hand with the family, but as a mother, my heart bleeds.”

“It wasn't a beating. She hit her on the back,” Ms Edberg said. “What happened was extremely serious.”

Girl “had previously been hit”

After the incident, the girl was sent to the corner, continued screaming and crying and called for her “mommy” in front of the teacher.

According to Le Parisien, the film was shot by the mother of another student who was in the classroom that day while the girl was crying after the incident.

The girl's father told Le Parisien: “My daughter had previously been hit, which caused her to have a seizure, and the mother who was present decided to film discreetly.”

According to the girl's father, it was the first day of school.

The author of the video is said to have shown the victim's mother and then prompted her to file a report at the Issy-les-Moulineaux police station.

According to the local school board, the teacher seen in the video, who was replaced and is currently on leave, has admitted the incident and apologized to the family.

The day after the complaint, she was spoken to by her school principal and the district inspector.

The Paris public prosecutor's office said it had not yet been informed of the complaint.

“Shocking and unacceptable”

On Tuesday, outgoing French Education Minister Nicole Belloubet called for disciplinary proceedings.

“These images are terribly shocking and unacceptable in our schools. I have immediately called for disciplinary proceedings to be initiated and for the teacher to be suspended immediately,” she said.

“I extend my full support to the victim and her family, who are receiving support.”

The girl's father said: “We are all extremely traumatized. I have not been able to sleep since it happened.”

“Every time I close my eyes, I hear her screams echoing in my head. My daughter no longer dares to leave the house. It was her first day of school in her life. This is a huge psychological blow for her.”

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