The shockwave has rippled through the French education system. On Tuesday, February 3, 2026, a 60-year-old art teacher was violently attacked by one of her students at a middle school in Sanary-sur-Mer (Var). Seriously wounded in the abdomen and forearm, she underwent emergency surgery at Sainte-Anne Hospital in Toulon. Her condition remains critical.

Sequence of events and profile of the aggressor

The attack occurred during class, around 2:00 PM, at the time when papers were being handed out. The alleged assailant, a 14-year-old boy, stabbed the teacher four times in front of her classmates. Arrested in the schoolyard, he was taken into custody for attempted murder .

According to the Toulon public prosecutor, Raphaël Balland, the initial findings of the investigation indicate:

1. Absence of political or religious motive: At this stage, no radicalization is mentioned.
2. Pre-existing tensions: Disagreements reportedly arose between the student and the teacher recently.
3. Complex family context: The teenager had been under educational assistance since last September, following suspicions of parental abuse reported by the institution.

Emergency Responses and Measures

The Minister of National Education, Édouard Geffray, visited the site in the evening to offer his support. For its part, the Élysée Palace indicated that the President of the Republic was closely monitoring the situation.

1. Psychological support: A medical-psychological emergency unit has been deployed for students, families and staff.
2. Increased security: Teachers' unions, such as the Snes-FSU, are calling for increased staffing for bag checks in schools.

A series of setbacks for the national education system

This tragic event is part of a worrying resurgence of violence in schools. Since last spring, several serious assaults have been reported in France (Nantes, Antibes, Benfeld).

This attack also reawakens the trauma of Samuel Paty's assassination in 2020, as the appeal trial in that case is currently underway in Paris. As a reminder, a decree from last July now mandates that any student found in possession of a weapon must be brought before a disciplinary board.