In brief
In a troubling incident at La Guicharde school in Sanary-sur-Mer, a secondary school art teacher was critically wounded after being stabbed by a student. The attacker, a 14-year-old boy, fled the scene but was apprehended shortly after. Authorities suggest unresolved tensions may have led to the attack as the investigation continues. The incident has sparked renewed scrutiny regarding safety in French schools.
A secondary school teacher in south-eastern France was left in a critical condition on Tuesday after being stabbed by a 14-year-old pupil.
The 60-year-old female art teacher was stabbed three to four times in her chest in front of around 20 other students, according to a local official.
The pupil fled the classroom before being caught in the schoolyard, and was later arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
Toulon's public prosecutor Raphaël Balland said the suspect did not appear to have had a religious or political motive, adding: All we know is that there had been tensions with this teacher recently, and he was angry with her.
La Guicharde school was evacuated after the attack in the early afternoon and Wednesday's lessons were cancelled, a regional education official said.
Earlier on Tuesday, France's Education Minister Edouard Geffray said he was heading immediately to the school in Sanary-sur-Mer, a coastal area of the Var region.
My thoughts immediately go to the victim, her family, and the entire educational community, whose deep shock I share, he wrote on X.
This incident adds to a troubling trend of violence in French schools. In recent years, several students have committed violent acts against teachers and fellow students, raising concerns about safety in educational environments.
In 2025, a 14-year-old was charged with the murder of a teaching assistant after allegedly stabbing her to death in June. In a separate case in April, a student killed a girl and wounded several others in a knife attack in the western city of Nantes. In 2020, the murder of teacher Samuel Paty by a Chechen refugee outside his Paris suburban school highlighted issues of safety linked to extremist ideologies.
