France school stabbing: Teen suspect said he planned to kill ‘any monitor' after reprimand over kiss
French authorities have announced plans to ban social media for under-15s and the sale of knives to minors after the teenager was arrested for the murder of the 31-year-old school monitor on Tuesday in the eastern town of Nogent.
The killing of the monitor—named only as Melanie—caused widespread shock, just months after another student killed a girl and wounded several others in a stabbing in western France.
The Nogent school pupil acknowledged 'being the perpetrator' of the latest deadly stabbing, regional prosecutor Denis Devallois told reporters.
The teenager did not appear to suffer from any 'mental disorder', but appeared 'detached' and expressed 'no regret' for killing one of the school's monitors, all of whom were women, Devallois said.
He said the suspect said he was a fan of 'violent video games', and showed a 'fascination for violence and death'.
The suspect 'said there was perhaps a link with the fact he was told off by a monitor on Friday, June 6, as he was kissing his girlfriend on school grounds', the prosecutor said, adding she was not the one killed on Tuesday.
'He stated that he had, as early as the next day, Saturday, mulled over a plan to kill a monitor, in his own words, 'any one of them',' the prosecutor added.
'He said that on Tuesday morning after breakfast he grabbed the largest knife in his home to, in his words, 'cause the most damage''.
Pupils stand in front of flowers on the fence of Francoise Dolto middle school in Nogent yesterday. — AFP pic
'She was great with kids'
Friends and well-wishers earlier on Wednesday left flowers and messages of support in front of the secondary school.
Laurence Raclot, who knew the victim, said she was 'stunned'.
'She was great with kids,' Raclot said of the teaching assistant.
A former hairdresser, Melanie had retrained and worked at the school since September. She was the mother of a four-year-old boy and a councillor in a village near Nogent.
In the wake of the attack, authorities promised measures to tackle knife crime among children.
'I am proposing banning social media for children under 15,' President Emmanuel Macron said on X on Tuesday evening.
'Platforms have the ability to verify age. Let's do it.'
Greece has spearheaded a proposal backed by France and Spain for the European Union to limit children's use of online platforms, as evidence shows that social media can have negative effects on children's mental and physical health.
Macron said on Tuesday that France 'cannot wait' and that if no progress was made in the coming months, the country would go ahead with the ban unilaterally.
France has seen several attacks on teachers and pupils in recent years by other schoolchildren.
In March, police started random searches for concealed weapons in and around schools.
Metal detectors?
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Francois Bayrou's office said a decree would be issued within the next two weeks to ban the sale of knives to minors.
Bayrou has also called for a trial of metal detectors in schools.
Education Minister Elisabeth Borne has also called for children's screen time to be limited.
But trade unions said they were not sure how the government's latest proposals could be enforced.
Sophie Venetitay, general-secretary of the SNES-FSU teachers' union, criticised what she saw as attempts to turn teaching assistants 'into security guards'.
Remy Reynaud, of the CGT Educ'action union, said bag searches outside schools simply 'increase tensions'.
Borne has called for a minute's silence in all French schools at midday on Thursday to honour the teaching assistant.
Borne on Sunday said French secondary schools could now screen British Netflix drama 'Adolescence', which explores how boys can be exposed to misogynistic influences online. — AFP
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