France Cancels Modern 'Beauty and the Beast' Edition for Primary School Graduates

France's education ministry has canceled a modern illustrated version of 'Beauty and the Beast' intended for 10-year-old children, deeming it inappropriate for the target age group. The cartoonist Julien Berjeaut, known as Jul, included contemporary elements such as police sniffer dogs and smartphones, which the ministry argued could raise complex questions unsuitable for independent reading by young children. Education Minister Élisabeth Borne acknowledged Jul's talent but stated that the themes of alcohol and social media were more appropriate for older students. The ministry had initially commissioned the adaptation as part of its 'A book for the holidays' campaign, aiming to provide 800,000 pupils with updated classics for summer reading. Jul criticized the decision as censorship based on 'false pretexts,' suggesting the real issue was the representation of characters in his illustrations. The ministry's backtrack followed a letter explaining that the content was not suitable for family reading without teacher guidance.