Headteacher’s final words before jumping from cliff after homophobic abuse

Police found the body of tragic Caroline Grandjean on the the first day of school in France after she had been harassed for years with homophobic graffiti and even death threats

A dedicated headmistress jumped to her death from a cliff after relentless homophobic^[1] abuse became too much.

Caroline Grandjean made an online confession just days before taking her own life on the first day of the new school year. Her body was discovered by police^[2] near Anglards-de-Salers in Cantal, France, where she lived with her wife. The former teacher had endured years of insults and sick taunts, and she had last year been subjected to graffiti that falsely labelled her a “Pedophile” written on the wall of her school.

The campaign forced her to take a leave of absence for months. But on the eve of the new term, as she was faced with a return to teaching, she plunged to her death. Writing on a facebook group for for school principals before, she said: “Monday, I assure you, will be much more difficult for me at home than for you in your school.” Four days later, she took her own life.

READ MORE: Husband who burned wife alive because her skin was ‘too dark’ sentenced to death^[3]READ MORE: Retired nurse killed by swarm of bees as she collected honey pictured^[4]

Her body was found around 30 metres off a cliff edge near her home. She had left a previous role following similar abuse. “The start of the school year is always a very difficult time for me,” she said in an online forum with other principals in January. “In concrete terms, the investigation isn’t moving forward.

“Since I’m no longer at the school, there’s obviously no more homophobic tagging. They’ve won over there. They have a replacement [at the school], and she’s fully committed. I think the hierarchy has also won since there’s no longer a problem.”

She never openly discussed her sexuality, but it was claimed that someone in the tiny village discovered that she was married to a woman and started a hateful campaign against her. It is understood that the first homophobic incident was reported in December 2023, when the principal discovered the words “dirty d**e” on the wall of the school she was in charge of.

It is also claimed that she received a death threat. Mrs Grandjean filed five different police reports during that period, but an arrest was never made. One unnamed parent at the school question if she was supported.

“Nothing was done to help the teacher – we have the feeling that the town wanted her to quit so that they could find peace and quiet again,” they said. “This town doesn’t deserve a school from the Republic.”

Thierry Pajot, a local union leader, claimed the town’s government suggested installing a security camera. “This harassment destroyed her,” Pajot said. “Especially since she wasn’t supported by either the education directors, who wanted to send her to a different school, which she refused, nor by the town hall.”

Her colleagues have been left heartbroken by her death. “I’m in shock,” Christophe Tardieux, an illustrator who worked with the tragic woman, told Le Parisien^[5] . “Her wife contacted me at the end of the day to tell me the terrible news. It’s a waste, and I don’t think there was anything that could have been done to prevent it.”

Whatever you are going through, you don’t have to face it alone. Call Samaritans for free on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or visit www.samaritans.org for more information.^[6]