A 15-year-old student fatally stabbed a school assistant during a bag check outside a middle school in Nogent, northeastern France, on Tuesday, in what officials are calling a brutal sign of escalating youth violence.
The 31-year-old educational assistant, who was a mother and a former hairdresser, was stabbed multiple times as students arrived at Françoise Dolto School. The student was quickly subdued by police stationed at the entrance and taken into custody. A police officer helping with the bag checks was slightly injured during the arrest.
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the attack, calling it part of a “senseless wave of violence” and said the nation was “in mourning.” He added that the government is mobilizing to fight what he described as a growing national crisis.
“This school assistant lost her life while protecting our children,” Macron posted on social media.
Education Minister Élisabeth Borne traveled to Nogent shortly after the incident, calling the attack “horrific” and saying the suspect came from a stable home and had no known behavioral issues.
Prime Minister François Bayrou said the violence reflects a deeper breakdown in society. "The threat of bladed weapons among our children has become critical. It is up to us to make this widespread scourge a public enemy," he wrote on X.
The fatal stabbing comes amid a surge in violence in French schools, especially involving knives. While fatal attacks remain rare, the Education and Interior Ministries have ramped up security, introducing random bag checks in schools this spring. Between 26 March and 23 May, 186 knives were seized and 32 people detained, officials said Tuesday.
The growing concern has prompted calls for stricter knife regulations and a nationwide trial of metal detectors in schools.
Unions and education leaders have also sounded the alarm. “Nothing can ever be completely secure,” said Elisabeth Allain-Moreno of the SE-UNSA teachers’ union. “Prevention has to be the focus.”
A minute of silence was held in parliament Tuesday in honor of the victim, as educators, officials, and parents across France grapple with another tragedy in a place that is meant to be safe.
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