RN councilors block school naming after Holocaust survivor in Bergerac

During Bergerac’s municipal council meeting, Socialist mayor Fabien Ruet suggested naming a school after Irène Sapir, a 89-year-old survivor of the 1942 Vel d’Hiv raid who has long shared her testimony with students. Three councillors from the Rassemblement national voted down the proposal, claiming that a republican school must stay neutral and should not bear the name of a political activist. They highlighted Sapir’s former membership in the French Communist Party and her decades-long service as a local teacher and elected official.

The RN members also rebuked her for never shaking their hands, while the mayor retorted that the party’s roots lie in former Waffen-SS formations. Sapir expressed no surprise at the vote, accusing the councillors of anti-Semitic motives, and the RN spokesperson announced plans to consider legal action. The council ultimately rejected the naming, leaving the school without the proposed dedication.