Teacher killed in Islamist attack on French school, President Macron says

Arras, France, Oct 13 (Reuters) – A 20-year-old knifeman stabbed a teacher to death in an attack on a school in Arras, northern France, on Friday. President Emmanuel Macron condemned it as “barbaric Islamic terrorism.”

After visiting the school, Mr Macron said two other people were seriously injured and were fighting for their lives.

President Macron paid tribute to the deceased teacher, whose body lay covered in shrouds and surrounded by a pool of blood, saying: “The murdered teacher intervened and undoubtedly saved many lives himself.” .

Schools will reopen on Saturday, he said, adding: “Our choice is not to give in to terrorism and not let anything divide us.”

In his address to the nation the previous day, President Macron called on France to remain united and not bring the conflict between Israel and Hamas into the country.

Although he did not have a direct link to Aras, he said, “Terrorism has once again occurred in a school and in a situation that everyone knows.”

According to police sources, the arrested suspect is a former student of Lycée Gambetta High School, where the incident occurred. One of the attacker’s brothers was also detained nearby.

The investigation was handed over to the Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office.

Police could not confirm local media reports that Friday’s attacker shouted “Allahu Akbar”.

However, police officials said the gunman was on a national watch list for people who are known to be potential security risks. “Fiche S” contains thousands of names, but only a few are actively monitored.

Police officials described the suspect as a Russian-born Chechen national, while some French media described him as a Russian-born Ingush national.

Security sources said the alleged assailant’s older brother is in prison on charges of links to Islamic extremist networks and glorifying terrorism.

France has been the target of a series of Islamist attacks over the years, the worst being the simultaneous attacks by gunmen and suicide bombers on Paris’ red-light district and cafes in November 2015.

Enhanced security

In 2020, teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded by a Chechen teenager seeking revenge for using cartoons mocking the Prophet Muhammad during a lesson on freedom of expression.

“Once again, a school has been attacked by Islamic terrorists,” President Macron said.

Video seen by Reuters showed three people, one of whom was holding a chair, being beaten as they tried to stop the attacker in the school parking lot. “He’s got a knife, he’s got a knife,” said one person who saw the scene.

“We are all in a state of shock,” philosophy teacher Martin Desault said. He was chased by the criminals, but managed to escape unharmed after being locked in a room.

Mr Desault said he saw the attacker chasing the school’s cook in the playground during a break between two classes before the attacker approached him.

“I was leaving work when I learned that one of my colleagues had been stabbed in the carotid artery and died in front of the school,” he told Reuters.

A school official told Reuters that an alert had since been issued at another school in Arras. According to French media, a third man was arrested after attempting to enter the school wearing a suspicious backpack.

Education Minister Gabriel Attal said security would be increased at schools across France.

President Macron said new attacks had been thwarted in the greater Paris area on Friday.

Witnesses said the gunman did not appear to have any intention of settling a grudge.

“He was looking for a history teacher,” Teacher Desault said. “So I didn’t think this was about a personal issue or a personal vendetta with a teacher.”

Students were locked in classrooms for hours.

Louis, a 15-year-old student, said the students initially thought it was a drill, but then an alarm went off and they had to hide.

“I’m shocked that something like this happened here. … It shows it can happen anywhere,” he told Reuters.

Arras is a deindustrialized and ethnically diverse city in the northern corner of France, an area where the far right has a strong following.

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