French education system in shock after headteacher’s suicide exposes failure to protect LGBTQ+ staff

The suicide of Caroline Grandjean, a headteacher in central France, has shocked the country’s educational community.

On Monday, the 42-year-old teacher took her own life, after nearly two years of harassment over her sexuality.

In response to her death, the French Ministry of Education launched an administrative investigation on Tuesday evening to shed full light on “all the facts and procedures” leading up to the tragedy.

A tragedy on the first day of school

On Monday morning, Grandjean contacted France’s national suicide prevention hotline to express her intentions.

Alerted, police attempted to locate her.

Her body was later found at a location some 10 kilometres from her school, authorities confirmed.

Grandjean’s ordeal began in December 2023, when she discovered homophobic graffiti in her school, where fifteen students are enrolled.

A few months later, in March 2024, more graffiti appeared, followed by a letter with death threats. Despite filing multiple complaints, the harassment persisted.

The academic inspectorate offered her a transfer, which she refused.

Just before the start of the 2024 school year, fresh insults led her to stop working again. She never returned to work.

According to those close to her, the teacher felt abandoned by the institution, which allegedly preferred to relocate her rather than protect her.

“Caroline’s decision to end her life on the first day of school is a message to the National Education system," said Christophe Tardieux, a teacher and graphic novelist, who recounted her story in an article published by French newspaper 20 Minutes.

"She holds it responsible for everything. She wanted people to know and to make noise. Because the institution thrives on silence and did everything to silence her,” Tardieux claimed.

Euronews has reached out to the academic inspectorate for comment on the claims put forward by Tardieux and those who knew Grandjean.

Widespread outrage in the educational community

Aurélie Gagnier, co-general secretary and spokesperson for a teachers’ union, said the tragedy exposed the deep structural failures within the French education system.

She highlighted the lack of concrete support for teachers in distress.

“In cases like this, it is clear that educational authorities must show firm and unwavering support," she said.

"For us, it is obvious that there should be visits from authorities and psychological care.”

In an interview with Euronews, Gagnier also denounced a critical shortage of resources.

“There is only one occupational physician for every 16,000 Education Ministry employees. There are virtually no occupational psychologists," she noted.

The union leader also pointed to the persistent taboo surrounding suicide within the institution.

“We developed a guide for suicide alerts in 2021, but it was never published. The reason? It mentions suicide, and the Ministry’s General Directorate of Human Resources does not want the word to circulate. There is enormous resistance on this issue," Gagnier said.

For unions, every tragedy should serve as a wake-up call.

An alarming trend for LGBTQ+ individuals

LGBTQ+ rights associations share the same outrage.

Julia Torlet, president of SOS Homophobie, believes Caroline Grandjean’s death could have been prevented.

“We protect harassed students, but we see that when it comes to staff, this is still not the case. They are simply transferred to another district," Torlet said.

The SOS Homophobie president also warned of a broad and alarming trend.

“Among LGBTQ+ youth under 25, there are four times more suicides than in the general population. And seven times more among young transgender individuals," Torlet said, noting that one in two people do not dare to disclose their sexual identity in the workplace.

“Just because there are rights does not mean mentalities have changed. Just because we have laws does not mean institutions protect people as a result. We want to highlight this stark contrast.”