Like her colleagues, Isabelle, a Franco-American teacher, wept. Everyone was in denial, the law seemed so unreal. But two weeks ago hiding all the books has become an obligation. She says: “I covered them, I put a sheet. There are a lot of emotions, sadness, frustration, anger. Many of us are scared of what this means for our future. In the meantime, we run.” Teachers who refuse risk a fine of 5,000 euros, or even prison.
And reading committee, often librarians trained in a hurry, in particular via a video, will have to say whether such a book is acceptable or not. One imperative: no pornography. Everyone agrees, but the definition of pornography is broad: “Anything that would cause some excitement is not acceptable. So if a sheep moves its body a little too much next to the cow, it could potentially be censored”, explains Isabelle.
Moreover, books should not be discriminatory. Again, that seems like common sense. But the discrimination does not necessarily concern minorities, but Americans annoyed by the reminder of certain historical facts. So, books emphasizing the country’s slave past have been removed.
