A knife attack occurred during class at a middle school in northeastern France, in the Bas-Rhin department, when a student stabbed a music teacher in the face.
France: Student attacks and stabs teacher inside middle school
Authorities arrested a 14-year-old suspect who, as French media reported today, is described as a Nazi sympathizer. The suspect was apprehended shortly after the attack, having initially fled the scene, according to a report by local news outlet “Dernieres Nouvelles d’Alsace”.
During his arrest, the 14-year-old self-inflicted wounds with the knife and was also taken to a local hospital, as reported by French broadcaster BFM.
Zaki Wolfurt, mayor of the city of Benfeld where the attack took place, said the school was evacuated and characterized the incident as “isolated” when speaking to reporters. France’s Education Minister posted on platform “X”: “I strongly condemn the attack on a teacher by a middle school student. I express my solidarity with the teacher and the school community“.
It’s worth noting that school safety in France has been the subject of intense debate in recent years. Last June, then-Prime Minister François Bayrou stated that the government would consider strengthening security measures at school entrances following the knife injury of a school assistant during a bag search. Political controversy was also sparked in 2020 by the murder of teacher Samuel Paty, who had shown satirical cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in his classroom.
