France on Monday honoured the teacher beheaded near his school by a suspected Islamist radical as millions of students returned to class after a spate of attacks that have put the country on edge.

Schoolchildren across France observed a minute of silence at 11:00 am (1000 GMT) to remember Samuel Paty, who was killed in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, west of Paris, on October 16.

Paty had shown his class cartoons of the prophet Mohammed for a lesson on freedom of expression, sparking an online campaign against him.

French high-school teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded after showing his class a cartoon of the prophet Mohammed for a lesson on freedom of expression
French high-school teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded after showing his class a cartoon of the prophet Mohammed for a lesson on freedom of expression AFP / Philippe LOPEZ

His killing heightened tensions as President Emmanuel Macron spearheads a campaign against Islamist radicalism.

Last Thursday, three people were killed by a knife-wielding man at a church in the southern city of Nice in the latest attack to be labelled an act of "Islamist" terror by the government.

Schoolchildren -- wearing masks because of the coronavirus pandemic -- stood behind their desks or in schoolyards for the minute of silence.

The gesture was matched at schools in Germany and Greece in a show of solidarity.

Students and teachers across France observed a minute of silence to remember slain history teacher Samuel Paty
Students and teachers across France observed a minute of silence to remember slain history teacher Samuel Paty AFP / LIONEL BONAVENTURE

"I know your emotion after the terrorist attacks, including one in front of a school against a teacher," Macron said in a message to pupils on his Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook social media channels.

"Today, in class, you will pay homage to Samuel Paty. We will all think of him, you and your teachers," he said, adding: "The plan of terrorism is to manufacture hatred."

IMAGESAfter a two-week holiday, 12 million pupils return to school in France. At the Jean Jaurès secondary school in Cenon, classes begin with a tribute to Samuel Paty, the teacher who was beheaded on 16 October for having shown cartoons of Mohammed in c
IMAGESAfter a two-week holiday, 12 million pupils return to school in France. At the Jean Jaurès secondary school in Cenon, classes begin with a tribute to Samuel Paty, the teacher who was beheaded on 16 October for having shown cartoons of Mohammed in class. AFPTV / Elodie LE MAOU

Classes in France resumed after the holidays with the country on maximum terror alert and armed gendarmes stationed outside some schools.

"I hope that they (the pupils) will have understood the essential idea that in France there is freedom of expression and when you are not happy with an opinion, you go to a judge. You never take justice into your own hands," teacher Paul Airiau told AFP at the Grange aux Belles college in Paris.

Prime Minister Jean Castex travelled to Conflans-Sainte-Honorine to pay his respects to Paty, saying he had "taught every child of the Republic to be a free citizen."

"For him, for our country, we will continue. It is our honour and our duty," Castex tweeted.

French Prime Minister Jean Castex and Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer travelled to Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, near Paris, to pay their respects to Samuel Paty
French Prime Minister Jean Castex and Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer travelled to Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, near Paris, to pay their respects to Samuel Paty POOL / THOMAS COEX

Macron has vowed to defend the right to freedom of speech after the furore created in many Muslim countries by the republication of cartoons of the prophet Mohammed in September by satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.

It did so to mark the start of the trial of suspected accomplices in the 2015 massacre of its staff by Islamist gunmen.

The trial has been postponed for at least a week after three defendants tested positive for coronavirus.

Following angry protests in the Muslim world over his defence of the right to publish cartoons, Macron told Al-Jazeera television over the weekend that he understood the caricatures could be shocking for some.

In the latest protest against France, at least 50,000 gathered in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka Monday for a rally which started at its biggest mosque but was prevented from approaching the French embassy, police said.

Prosecutors say Paty was beheaded by an 18-year-old Chechen man, Abdullakh Anzorov, who was spurred to act by a social media campaign by parents angry that he had shown their children the Charlie Hebdo cartoons.

Anzorov was killed by police.

Last week's stabbing rampage in Nice is suspected to have been carried out by Brahim Issaoui, a 21-year-old who arrived illegally in Europe from Tunisia in September.

He remains in a serious condition in hospital after being shot by police, but his life is no longer in danger, said a source close to the investigation.

Police initially detained six people suspected of links with Anzorov.

Two are still being held, including a fellow Tunisian aboard the boat that brought Issaoui to the Italian island of Lampedusa on September 20, added the source who asked not to be named.

France's Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said he would travel to Tunisia and Algeria this week to discuss the fight against terror, and would also soon visit Russia.

However an individual arrested over the shooting was released on Sunday and the authorities have not handed the case to anti-terror prosecutors.

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