Row in Paris

NANTERRE, France: A philosophy teacher’s claim that radical Islamism is rampant in a rough Paris suburb has erupted into a fierce political fight that risks complicating the government’s push for tougher laws against religious extremism. The conflict has prompted threats against the teacher in Trappes, west of the capital, as well as against the city’s leftist mayor, who denounced the portrayal of his city.

Didier Lemaire penned an open letter last November accusing the state of underestimating the Islamist threat.

He was writing in reaction to the killing of fellow teacher Samuel Paty, who was attacked in the street and beheaded after he showed students blasphemous cartoons.