School Principal, Teacher Wounded in Shooting at Middle School in Southern France

By Staff, Agencies

A school principal and a teacher were shot and wounded at a middle school in the southern French town of Aubagne on Monday, according to Education Minister Edouard Geffray.

“A student is suspected of being responsible,” Geffray said in a post on X, the US-based social media platform.

The minister added that he was traveling to Lakanal Middle School alongside Interior Minister Laurent Nunez and Sabrina Roubache, a lawmaker representing the Bouches-du-Rhône department.

French broadcaster BFMTV reported that the 53-year-old principal was shot in the right hip, while the 37-year-old teacher sustained a gunshot wound to the thigh.

Both victims suffered injuries that were not considered life-threatening, according to a source close to the investigation cited by the broadcaster.

BFMTV also reported that a 14-year-old student at the school had been arrested on suspicion of carrying out the shooting. An investigation into attempted murder has been launched, the broadcaster added.

Aubagne Mayor Jean-Pierre Squillari confirmed that no students were injured in the incident.

Local reports indicated that the shooting was unrelated to student protests taking place at high schools across France, adding that Lakanal Middle School had not been affected by any blockade.

Reacting to the incident, Geffray said the national education system would stand united in supporting the school community.

“Faced with this new attack, the National Education system will, as always, remain united and strong around an educational community that has been severely affected,” he said.

The minister described the shooting as “an unacceptable act,” warning that it reflected the “spread of unbridled violence” in French society.

“Against this, we must all mobilize, in our words and in our actions,” he added.