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A teacher at a secondary school in the northern French city of Arras was killed in a knife attack and two others were injured, including a security guard who was seriously injured.
Police are still investigating the motive for the attack and the suspect has been arrested.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on social media platform X: “Police are taking action at the Gambetta high school in Arras. The perpetrators have been arrested.”
A French official said the attacker, who was of Chechen descent and had been a student at the high school, shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the incident. The person said he was on a watch list of people linked to radical Islam who pose a potential security risk.
French counter-terrorism prosecutors said they had launched an investigation into allegations of murder and attempted murder involving terror groups.
A police officer said the attacker’s brother was also arrested at a nearby high school.
While the attacker’s motive is unclear, the incident is reminiscent of another traumatic attack in France almost three years ago, when a 47-year-old teacher, Samuel Paty, was found in a classroom was beheaded by a Chechen Muslim. Patty is a history teacher who came under attack from Islamists for teaching a course on free speech that included showing students cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
Patty’s death left a deep scar on the country, especially the education community. France has suffered a series of Islamist attacks in recent years, the most serious of which was a simultaneous attack on a theater and café in Paris in November 2015.
President Macron is due to travel to Arras later on Friday to visit the high school, accompanied by Darmanin and Education Minister Gabriel Attal.
The attack comes at a tense time, with government officials concerned about the impact the conflict between Israel and Hamas will have on France. The country has Europe’s largest Jewish population and Jewish leaders have expressed concern about anti-Semitic attacks.
It was unclear whether Friday’s attack was anti-Semitic in nature, and little is known about the victims.
Macron called for national unity in a televised address on Thursday night. “Let us not add national divisions to international divisions, let us not succumb to hatred of any kind,” he said.
Union police officer David Morel told BFM television that students at the school were not immediately evacuated but were instead confined to the site. They stayed at school early on Friday afternoon.
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