Le Professeur, the play inspired by Samuel Paty by Carole Bouquet at La Scala Paris

Le Professeur, Émilie Frèche's play directed by Muriel Mayette-Holtz, is coming to La Scala Paris in the 10th arrondissement for a series of performancesfrom October 9 to December 14, 2025. This moving contemporary tragedy traces the last ten days of Samuel Paty, the history-geography teacher murdered in October 2020 after showing Charlie Hebdo cartoons during a lesson on freedom of expression.

After creating a stir at the Cimiez Arena during the Théâtre National de Nice's Festival of Tragedy, Carole Bouquet returns to the capital to embody this gallery of characters with gripping intensity. The actress, who had already collaborated with Muriel Mayette-Holtz on Bérénice, takes on a particular challenge here: giving voice and body to all the protagonists of this affair that shook France.

The show plunges us into the spiral of cowardice that led to the tragedy. In turn, we discover the teacher, lucid but progressively consumed by anguish, the embarrassed principal, the student who lied, the threatening Islamist, the colleagues who disassociate themselves, the powerless secular referent. Émilie Frèche, who wrote this play in collaboration with Mickaëlle Paty, the teacher's sister, makes us feel this implacable mechanism with a disturbing acuity.

"A pupil accused him, a father called him a thug, a man of faith called for him to be struck off," sums up the text published by Albin Michel. Videos were circulated, threats were made, a malicious rumor started. And the professor was asked to apologize when he had done nothing wrong.

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The choice of a single director is not insignificant. As the director explains, the aim is to distance herself from the news item and show that "in the same person, you can have contradictions, little cowardice, failings". Carole Bouquet slips from one register to another with remarkable ease, giving voice to this polyphony of silences and evasions.

The deliberately uncluttered set consists of a bare stage and a music stand. Lighting by François Thouret and music by Cyril Giroux accompany this 1:05 reading-performance, which transforms a chilling news item into a truly universal tragedy. For beyond Samuel Paty's story, it's a question of our successive renunciations and the crumbling of universalism at school.

Located on boulevard de Strasbourg, La Scala Paris is the perfect setting for this demanding work. This former 1874 music hall, renovated by Mélanie and Frédéric Biessy, offers an eclectic program that unites young artists with the great names of show business. The venue, easily accessible by the Strasbourg-Saint-Denis metro (lines 4, 8 and 9), also features a restaurant run by Richard Peduzzi to extend the evening.

Le Professeur is aimed at spectators in search of committed theater, capable of questioning our times with accuracy and courage. This necessary play reminds us that theater allows us to see, hear, understand and feel what upsets us. A poignant tribute to the memory of Samuel Paty, and an essential reflection on freedom of expression and our collective responsibilities.

The show runs from October 9 to December 14, 2025. Performances are at 7pm on weekdays and 3pm on some Sundays. Prices range from 20 to 62 euros, depending on the seats chosen, with discounts available for under-26s (15 euros) and theAvantage Scala, which offers a 30% discount for 3 or more shows booked. Reservations at lascala-paris.fr or directly at the theater box office, accessible via the Strasbourg-Saint-Denis metro station.