2025 Nantes school stabbing

Our Lady of All Helps High School is part of a complex that features a primary and middle school, which houses 2,000 pupils. Knife attacks in schools have become a sensitive issue in France after a series of incidents, including the 2020 murder and decapitation of a teacher in Eragny-sur-Oise and the fatal stabbing of a teacher by a student at a private school in Saint-Jean-de-Luz in February 2023. Bag searches by law enforcement at the entrance of schools had already been implemented in some areas. ==Stabbing==

At approximately 12:30 p.m., the attacker entered the school armed with at least one knife. He killed a 15-year-old girl A suspect was arrested by law enforcement at the scene after being restrained by a teacher. Eyewitness accounts described pupils running through the school, and others confined to classrooms after an alarm was set off. The school administration alerted families of pupils of the situation and authorities assisted students in leaving the site at 3:30 p.m., as some parents and families of pupils waited nearby. A hunting knife and folding knife were found in the suspect's possession as well as a fake gun in his backpack. Ouest France reported that the attacker was dressed all in black, and wore a helmet and balaclava. Het Nieuwsblad reported that the suspect wore steel-toe boots, sunglasses and headphones. ==Victims==

The killed victim of the stabbing was identified by Le Monde as Lorène, a 15-year-old female student. Two of the injured students were left in a critical condition and taken to the hospital of the University of Nantes, whilst the third injured student was left with minor injuries. On April 26, one of the victims with more serious injuries was reported as no longer being in life-threatening danger. ==Aftermath==

After the incident, psychological support was put in place for students and teachers. == Investigation ==

A police spokesman said there was no indication of a terrorist motive behind the stabbing, Students at the school revealed they had received emails from the suspect which had been sent to the entire school. According to Le Parisien, the suspect has suicidal tendencies and sent a 13-page document described as a manifesto titled Immune Action. The document advocated environmentalism, anti-industrialism and anti-globalism, "denouncing the state of the world", particularly "systemic violence" and "social alienation", writing that society is an "immense conditioning operation" aimed at "rendering human beings docile, predictable and programmable." The friend also stated that they were grew fearful of the suspect after he had said to him that it "seems incredible to hijack a plane" and to fly one without training, when speaking of the September 11 attacks. ==Reactions==

Later the same day, French president Emmanuel Macron expressed his condolences on X (formerly Twitter) and praised teachers at the scene, writing "I extend my heartfelt thoughts to the families, the high school students, and the entire educational community, whose shock and grief the nation shares. Through their intervention, teachers undoubtedly prevented further tragedies. Their courage commands respect." Prime Minister François Bayrou called for an "intensification" of checks for knives in schools. Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau told news reporters at the scene: "This tragedy is not a news item, it is a social phenomenon." Marine Le Pen of the National Rally party, which focuses on security as part of its policy, wrote on social media that: "It is more than time to take the necessary measures to eradicate the banalization of the extreme violence which is ravaging the heart of our schools". ==See also==