French Prime Minister François Bayrou has urged "an intensification of controls in and around schools" after a student killed a teenage girl and wounded three other pupils in a stabbing spree on Thursday at a private school.
In the latest case to shock France, the 16-year-old assailant attacked fellow students with a knife at the Notre-Dame de Toutes-Aides grammar school in the western city of Nantes.
One girl died at the scene while one of the three wounded, also a girl, was said to be in critical condition.
The youth – whose identity has not been revealed but who had expressed an admiration for Adolf Hitler – was overcome by teachers after staging attacks in several classrooms, witnesses said.
He was detained by police but hospitalised after a psychiatric examination. The suspect sent a rambling email to other students just before the attacks.
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"The psychiatrist who examined the suspect concluded that his state of health is incompatible with the current police custody," Nantes prosecutor Antoine Leroy told reporters.
President Emmanuel Macron, writing on social media platform X, hailed the "courage" of the teachers who floored the youth.
"Through their intervention, teachers likely prevented other tragedies. Their courage demands respect," he said.
'Symbol of savagery'
Prime Minister François Bayrou said security should be stepped up "in and around schools" following the attack.
He called for a response to the "endemic violence" among some youths and demanded proposals to prevent further knife attacks. Bayrou said secure gates at all schools was a possibility.
He called for "concrete proposals" for the prevention of "violence committed by minors with bladed weapons" to be submitted to him within four weeks.
In February, French Education Minister Elisabeth Borne announced that police would start random searches near schools for hidden knives and other weapons in a bid to deal with the rise in attacks.
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Speaking to the press on Thursday evening, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau qualified the attack "not as a news item, but a symbol of the savagery" of society.
According to local radio, Ici Loire Océan, the suspect sent a long email to other pupils in which he said "globalisation has transformed our system into a machine to decompose humanity".
He advocated a "biological revolt" to facilitate a return to "the natural order of things, even if cruel" instead of "globalised ecocide".
Classes will be maintained for primary school students on Friday but are suspended for middle and high school students.
A psychological support unit has been put in place and a call to lay flowers in front of the school has been shared on social media.
(with newswires)
