Around 100 knives found in 958 random bag checks in school: How French government is facing teen violence in schools

Around 100 knives found in 958 random bag checks in school: How French government is facing teen violence in schools

Lately, France has been witnessing a surge in a series of attacks on teachers and pupils by school children.

In April this year, the education ministry reported that 958 random bag checks in schools led to the seizure of 94 knives.

The Educational Ministry of France introduced bag checks at schools this year.

186 knives seized in two months

Moreover, in a two-month period this spring, 186 knives were seized during school bag checks and 32 people were detained during that period.

On Tuesday, a 15-year-old student stabbed a French middle school employee to death during a bag check at their school east of Paris, the national gendarme service said.

The student was then arrested for stabbing the 31-year-old teaching assistant.

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the attack, calling the educational assistant, 'a victim of senseless violence'.

“While she was looking after our children in Nogent, an educational assistant lost her life, a victim of senseless violence,” Macron said in a post on X. “The nation is in mourning and the government mobilized to bring crime down.”

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen also condemned the attack, stressing, "Not a week goes by without a tragedy striking a school."

Pen further denounced the "trivialization of ultra-violence, fueled by the apathy of public authorities."

In another case in April, a high school student stabbed four other students at his school in Western France, killing one and injuring three others.

Metal detectors to prevent attacks

In April, Prime Minister Francois Bayrou suggested metal detectors to prevent such attacks in future to keep schools safe.

Bayrou called for a response to the "endemic violence" among some youths and demanded proposals to prevent further violence.

"These weapons must be banned", raising the possibility of metal detectors as “one option.”