The pupil – whose name and age were not specified but whose classmates said had written a manifesto against “globalised ecocide” – was arrested after finally being overpowered by school staff.
France has in recent years been shaken by a series of school incidents involving attacks on teachers as well as schoolchildren by their peers.
In the latest case of teenage violence, the assailant attacked fellow students with a knife at the Notre-Dame de Toutes-Aides secondary school in the western city of Nantes at around 12:30 pm (1030 GMT), a police source said.
President Emmanuel Macron, writing on X, saluted the bravery of the teachers who intervened, saying they prevented an even higher toll.
“Through their intervention, teachers likely prevented other tragedies. Their courage demands respect,” he said.
Prime Minister Francois Bayrou urged “an intensification of controls in and around schools” following the attack.
He called for a “collective awakening” in the face of “endemic violence” among “a segment of our youth”, and demanded proposals within four weeks to prevent further “violence committed by minors” with knives.
One student gave an account of what happened.
“I was in the cafeteria with my friends and we were told that a high school pupil had stabbed students in several classrooms,” she said, without giving her name.
“We were told not to leave the cafeteria for about 20 minutes, and then we were confined to a gym.”
She added that the assailant “was known to be depressed, he said he loved Hitler.”
Another school pupil told reporters the suspected attacker’s manifesto said “globalisation has transformed our system into a machine to decompose humanity,” advocating for a “biological revolt” to facilitate a return to “the natural order of things, even if cruel” instead of “globalised ecocide.”
The school administration sent a message to the families of the some 2,000 students who attend the school, informing them of the incident.
Students had been immediately confined inside the school, the statement added.
“In coordination with the authorities present, we are organising the gradual release of students from 3:30 pm onwards in accordance with a strict protocol,” the message said.
Concerned parents gathered outside the school, which had already been cordoned off by police who, with French soldiers, were guarding the site.
French Education Minister Elisabeth Borne and Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau arrived on site in the afternoon.
Borne in February said police would start random searches for knives and other weapons concealed in bags at and around schools, in a bid to deal with an increase in violent attacks. (AFP)
