Knife attack at French school leaves one dead, three injured
The suspected attacker, whose identity has not been made public, was restrained by a teacher before police arrived.
A deadly knife attack at a private school in western France has left a teenage girl dead and three other students injured, triggering shock and grief across the country.
The violence erupted on Thursday afternoon at Notre-Dame-de-Toutes-Aides school in Nantes, causing panic among students and prompting a swift response from emergency services.
The suspected attacker, whose identity has not been made public, was restrained by a teacher before police arrived and arrested him at the scene.
The school was quickly evacuated after the attack, with both police and army officers deployed to secure the area.
Rue des Épinettes, where the school is located in the eastern part of Nantes, was sealed off as a large number of police and emergency personnel responded.
Psychological support teams have been made available to both students and teachers following the incident.
Eyewitnesses speaking to local media described a chaotic scene, with students seen running through the school grounds.
An alarm reportedly sounded around lunchtime, prompting staff to lock students inside classrooms for their safety.
Parents were later informed of the incident and advised that students were being kept indoors as a precaution.
Authorities began releasing students gradually from 15:30 local time (13:30 GMT), while anxious parents gathered nearby to await their children. "We are waiting to hold them [our children] in our arms," one father told Reuters. "And help deal with the stress this will have caused."
The school, which educates approximately 2,000 pupils from nursery to high school, has remained closed to allow investigators and mental health professionals to manage the aftermath of the attack.
French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed the casualty figures in a post on X and praised the swift actions of school staff.
"By their intervention, the teachers undoubtedly prevented further tragedies. Their courage commands respect," he wrote.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who visited the school along with other national and local officials, said the attack reflected a wider societal concern.
"This tragedy is not a news item, it is a social phenomenon," he told reporters. He added that the suspect’s "psychological profile" was still unknown.
Prime Minister François Bayrou responded by calling for tighter security measures in schools. He urged "an intensification" of checks for knives, pointing to the growing concern over such attacks in learning institutions.
Meanwhile, Nantes public prosecutor Antoine Leroy also visited the school and is expected to hold a news conference in the coming days to provide more details.