An art teacher in Sanary-sur-Mer, southern France, is in critical condition after he was stabbed with a knife by a 14-year-old student while teaching a class on Tuesday, February 3, according to a local Toulon resident.
According to Raphael Balland, the 60-year-old teacher was stabbed three to four times on his body inside the classroom. The student was immediately arrested and is currently detained on suspicion of attempted murder.
There was no proven religious or political motive for the incident, but according to Balland, there were tensions between the student and the teacher. The perpetrator also has no criminal record.
On the teachers' side, Tatiana Kolodziej, one of the student's teachers, said, "We are scared. The student may have problems and sometimes become disruptive in class… He is not usually violent, but he is not calm either.”
School security in France has once again become an issue after previous incidents, including the attempted murder of a teacher in 2020 and several attacks on teachers by students in recent years.
