France on high alert after school stabbing, to mobilise 7,000 troops to beef up security

After a teacher was stabbed to death and three other people wounded in a school by a former student suspected of Islamic radicalisation, France will mobilise up to 7,000 soldiers to increase security around the country, the President's office said on Saturday (October 14).

The announcement of the unprecedented measure came after a man of Chechen origin, who was under surveillance by the French security services, stabbed a teacher to death at his former high school and critically wounded two other people in northern France on Friday (October 13), according to French authorities. The stabbings took place at the Gambetta-Carnot school, which enrolls students ages 11–18 and is located in the city of Arras, some 115 miles (185 km) north of Paris.

Sliman Hamzi, a police officer who was one of the first on the scene said the suspected attacker shouted “Allahu akbar,” or “God is great” in Arabic. Hamzi said he was alerted by another officer, rushed to the school and saw a male victim lying on the ground outside the school and the attacker being taken away. “Colleagues arrived quickly but unfortunately couldn't save the victim,” Hamzi said.

The dead educator was Dominique Bernard, a French language teacher at the Gambetta-Carnot school. Another teacher and a security guard were in critical condition with wounds from the stabbing, police said. The counterterrorism prosecutor said a cleaning worker was also injured.

Even as the government announced a high alert, the Louvre Museum in Paris evacuated all visitors and staff and closed early on Saturday (October 14) after the museum received a written threat. Police officers cordoned off the area as tourists and other visitors streamed out of the museum. The Louvre, home to masterpieces such as the Mona Lisa, has between 30,000 and 40,000 visitors every day.

Investigation on

French anti-terror prosecutors are investigating the stabbings and the suspect has been arrested. National police identified him as a Russian national of Chechen origin.

The prosecutor said the alleged assailant was a former student there and repeatedly shouted “Allahu akbar,” or “God is great” in Arabic during the attack. Prosecutors are considering charges of terrorism-related murder and attempted murder against the suspect.

The government heightened the national threat alert, and President Emmanuel Macron ordered up to 7,000 soldiers deployed by Monday night and until further notice to bolster security and vigilance around France, his office said.

The “Attack Emergency” threat posture allows the government to temporarily mobilise the military to protect public places among other measures.

Motive unclear

The attacker's exact motive remained unclear, and he is reportedly refusing to speak to investigators.

The suspect in this week's attack had been under surveillance since the summer on suspicion of Islamic radicalisation, French intelligence services said. He was detained on Thursday (October 12) for questioning based on the monitoring of his phone calls in recent days, but investigators found no sign that he was preparing an attack, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.

French intelligence suggested a link between the war in the Middle East and the suspect's decision to attack, the minister said. He said authorities have detained 12 people near schools or places of worship since the Hamas attack on Israel, some of whom were armed and were preparing to act. France has heightened security at hundreds of Jewish sites around the country this week.

Recalling horror

Martin Doussau, a philosophy teacher at the Gambetta High School, said the attacker was armed with two knives and appeared to be hunting specifically for a history teacher. Paty taught history and geography. “I was chased by the attacker who ... asked me if I teach history. (He said), Are you a history teacher, are you a history teacher?'" said Doussau, who recounted how he barricaded himself behind a door until police used a stun gun to subdue the attacker.

“When he turned around and asked me if I am a history teacher, I immediately thought of Samuel Paty,” Doussau told reporters.

For many in France, the attack echoed the killing of another teacher, Samuel Paty, almost exactly three years ago near his Paris area school. He was beheaded by a radicalised Chechen and later killed by police.

Paty was slain on Oct 16, 2020 — also a Friday — by an 18-year-old who had become radicalized. That attacker was also of Chechen background.

‘Stay united’

President Macron travelled to Arras along with the interior and education ministers.

The President stopped for a moment before the blanket-covered body of the teacher, which was in the parking lot in front of the school. A puddle of blood was visible as forensic experts worked around the body. He then went to see students from the school in an adjacent building. School attacks are rare in France, and the government asked authorities to heighten vigilance at all schools across the country.

Announcing that the school would reopen on Saturday (October 14), Macron urged the people of France to “stay united”. “The choice has been made not to give in to terror,” he said. “We must not let anything divide us, and we must remember that schools and the transmission of knowledge are at the heart of this fight against ignorance.”

School reopens

At the school on Saturday (October 14) morning, police stood guard as adults and children trickled in. Classes were cancelled, but the school reopened for those who wanted to come together or seek support. One mother said she came with her 17-year-old daughter in a show of defiance against extremism, and to overcome the fear of returning to a site where children were locked down for hours after the stabbing.

The attack is being investigated as potential terrorism amid soaring global tensions over the war between Israel and Hamas.

France is estimated to have the world's third-largest Jewish population after Israel and the US, and the largest Muslim population in Western Europe. There have been calls in Muslim nations for mass protests after Friday prayers over Israel's intense bombing campaign in Gaza.

Interior Minister Darmanin on Thursday (October 12) ordered local authorities to ban all pro-Palestinian demonstrations amid a rise in antisemitic acts since the Hamas attack.

(With inputs from agencies)