Following the death of a teaching assistant who was stabbed by a 14-year-old pupil during a bag check at a secondary school in eastern France on Tuesday, Prime Minister François Bayrou has announced that stricter rules on the sale of knives to minors will come into effect immediately.
In a bid to tackle what President Emmanuel Macron described as "a senseless surge of violence," the French government will issue a decree "within 15 days" banning the sale of knives to minors.
Bayrou said Tuesday's tragedy showed "a breakdown of the society in which we live." adding: "This is not just an isolated incident."
French lawmakers observed a minute's silence in parliament, hours after the fatal attack by a 14-year-old boy on a teaching assistant.
The 31-year-old mother of one, who worked at the Françoise Dolto school in Nogent, northeastern France, was stabbed several times as pupils were arriving to have their bags inspected in the presence of police, education officials said.
A police officer assisting with the bag checks was also slightly injured during the arrest, according to the gendarme service.
Pupil stabs teaching assistant to death at French school during bag check
Classmates 'shocked'
Education Minister Elisabeth Borne has called for a minute of silence at midday in all schools across France on Thursday.
During her visit to Nogent after the attack, Borne attested to the "shock" of the young people there.
"They are also very shocked to see that one of their classmates could commit such a horrific act. And this classmate was very well integrated in the school."
She described the suspect as "a young man from a family where both parents work, who does not present any particular difficulties".
Speaking on television channel TF1 on Tuesday evening, Bayrou indicated that the ban on the sale of "any knife that can be used as a weapon" to minors would come into effect "immediately".
He also called for a trial of metal detectors in schools – a proposition that has been met with scepticism from politicians, even within Macron's camp.
When asked about the installation of metal detectors, Borne said she was "open to anything that can prevent weapons from being brought into schools," but added: "Everyone knows that security gates aren't the ultimate solution, because we also have ceramic knives that won't be detected."
She insisted: "[We must] work together with local authorities to ensure maximum security on school grounds, to ensure they remain sanctuaries [without] turning them into bunkers."
French PM calls for tighter security in schools after deadly knife attack
Knife attacks on the rise
France has been shocked by a series of attacks on teachers and pupils by other schoolchildren, amidst a general rise in youth crime.
In April, a student killed a girl and wounded several other pupils in a stabbing spree in the western city of Nantes. Reports of bladed weapons in schools have jumped by 15 percent in the last year, according to government figures released in February.
The education ministry said 6,000 checks in schools resulted in the seizure of 186 knives between 26 March and 23 May.
In May, the deputy speaker of the National Assembly, Naima Moutchou, said the carrying of knives had become "a phenomenon" affecting the whole country.
"That's 3,000 young people a year who are arrested with a bladed weapon," Moutchou said.
Mandated by the prime minister to come up with concrete solutions to the problem of youth violence, Moutchou recommended mandatory video surveillance at the entrances and within the grounds of educational establishments.
Requests for protection
France's education ministry reported in April that they had received nearly 5,000 requests for protection, filed on behalf of education staff.
Sophie Venetitay, general secretary of the SNES-FSU teachers' union, said the teaching assistant killed in Nogent on Tuesday had been left "exposed".
"Teaching assistants have an educational role and are not security guards outside schools," she added.
Marjorie, a 38-year-old teaching assistant and member of the SE Unsa union, who works 31 hours a week at a middle school in Chambéry, told French news agency AFP that she has seen students "who come with broken windows or throw firecrackers from the third floor".
"At the gate, students push us, step on us and jostle us. Last year, a student arrived in front of the school with a knife."
Tuesday's attack "shows that nothing can ever be completely secure and that it is prevention that needs to be focused on," said Elisabeth Allain-Moreno, secretary-general of the SE-UNSA teachers' union.
Rémy Reynaud, of the CGT Educ'action union, believes the government's implementation of bag checks in front of schools since March has "significantly worsened" the situation.
"They are increasing tensions," he said. "Management is pressuring teaching assistants to participate in the searches, which is not part of their role."
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Laurent Zameczkowski, spokesperson for the PEEP parents' association, said "the real problem is the mental health of our young people, which has deteriorated since Covid."
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the far-left France Unbowed party, agreed with the need to raise awareness of this issue. He said authorities must better look after the mental health of young people – especially boys.
To this end, Macron said he would push for a ban on social media for those under 15, warning: "I'm giving us a few months to achieve European mobilisation. Otherwise, we'll start doing it in France. We can't wait."
(with newswires)
