A female teacher was stabbed to death Friday in front of her
pupils at a primary school in the southern French town of Albi by a student's
mother, who was immediately detained.
"This
morning, a mother showed up with a knife and stabbed a 34-year-old teacher in
front of her students, for reasons that will be determined by the
investigation," Albi prosecutor Claude Derens told AFP.
"When I
arrived at the scene they were trying to revive her. She was in cardiac arrest
in her classroom," he said.
President
Francois Hollande immediately sent Education Minister Benoit Hamon to the
school to take charge of the government response.
"All
state services will be mobilised to take care of these children and the staff
who witnessed this awful tragedy," Hollande said in a statement.
The stabbing
took place as morning classes began at Albi's Edouard Herriot primary school,
which is attended by 284 students aged from three to 11.
No further
details were immediately available and a press conference was planned for
Friday afternoon.
A spokesman
for Hamon said he was on his way to the school to show his support, saying the
education minister "is deeply shocked by this crime, which plunges the end
of the school year into mourning."
"This
tragedy confirms there is a need to fight against violence in and around
schools, to protect schools, teachers and students."
The incident
comes amid concerns in France over assaults by parents on teachers, with a
study released in April saying nearly half of primary school principals had
been verbally or physically abused by parents.
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