Catherine Polito, the principal of Collège Jules-Ferry, a secondary school in central France, said she was still "surprised" by the storm she has had to weather in recent weeks. At the beginning of February, as it does every year, the school organized a two-hour discussion on "emotional life and relationships between girls and boys" for the school's four ninth-grade classes. The school nurse is accompanied during these sessions by members of the local maternal and child protection (PMI) health staff. The sessions are based on a traveling exhibition, designed by the department in 2011 and entitled "2XY," which looks at various aspects of emotional and sexual life: the anatomy of the body, respect, consent, etc.

After familiarizing themselves with the exhibition, students submit their written questions on the various subjects anonymously and the speakers answer them. "A classic" in sex education, according to the principal, who deems the sessions "essential" for "protecting students from risky behavior" and "promoting equality between girls and boys," in line with a 2018 circular that specified the aims of sex education in the school setting. Since 2001, a law has made three annual sessions compulsory, from kindergarten to high school. In practice, only a minority of students benefit from all the sessions.

That should have been the end of the matter at Collège Jules-Ferry. However, on February 5, the principal was warned that this health event was being singled out for public condemnation on social media by the Parents en Colère (Angry Parents) Association, reputed for siding with conspiracy theorists and the far right. "Alerted" to the discussion by a student's mother, the association highlighted a session that allegedly discussed "masturbation for babies," "schematized sexual positions and how to take pleasure" and "the possibility of having sexual intercourse from the age of 9." "Lies," said the principal, who saw it as an "attack on the role of the school." A few days later, a dozen adults not known to the school distributed leaflets to students outside the school, telling them not to attend the sessions.

Faced with the outburst, the principal filed a complaint for defamation on February 7. Local authorities followed suit on February 13. "Everything presented in the exhibition has been validated and is part of our prevention mission," said Judicaël Osmond, council member. The situation was unprecedented for both the elected official and the school staff. Christian Mendivé, academic director of national education services for the region, was still astonished: "The prevention work carried out at the school has rarely been controversial. The idea of protecting teenagers from risky behavior seems to me to be consensual and in line with our public service mission."

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