French prosecutors seek murder charge for school stabbing suspect

French prosecutors on Thursday requested that a 14-year-old pupil detained for allegedly stabbing to death a teaching assistant be charged with murder, as schools across France held a minute of silence.

The secondary school pupil was arrested Tuesday after allegedly killing with a knife a school monitor — a 31-year-old mother of a young boy — during a bag search in the eastern town of Nogent.

The latest school attack caused widespread shock in France, with President Emmanuel Macron denouncing a rise in violence.

The pupil had wanted to attack “any” monitor after being reprimanded a few days earlier for kissing his girlfriend, prosecutors say.

On Thursday, prosecutors requested he be charged with “murder of a person carrying out a public service mission” and “intentional violence” against a police officer injured during the arrest.

The prosecutor’s office also requested that the pupil be placed in pre-trial detention, Dijon prosecutor Olivier Caracotch said in a statement.

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Regional prosecutor Denis Devallois told reporters on Wednesday that the teenager acknowledged “being the perpetrator” of the deadly stabbing and that he “intended to kill”.

As a minor, the suspect faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison instead of life imprisonment.

A moment of silence was held at midday in schools across France in memory of the victim identified by authorities only as Melanie.

France has seen several attacks on teachers and pupils in recent years by other schoolchildren.

Macron denounced the violence during a cabinet meeting on Thursday, said the government spokeswoman.

“He spoke… of a rise, a disinhibition around violence in our country, for which solutions will clearly need to be found,” Sophie Primas said, quoting the French leader.

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In March, police started random searches for concealed weapons in and around schools.

‘Going to be hard’

Classes resumed on Thursday at the site of the tragedy, the Francoise Dolto school.

The first students arrived shortly after 8:00 am in complete silence, escorted by a member of school staff, an AFP journalist saw.

“It’s going to be strange not seeing the monitor anymore,” said Jade, 15.

“I told my daughters to go to the counselling room to talk,” said Daniele Quentin, 52, mother of three children enrolled at the school.

“It’s going to be hard for the girls, who really liked her,” she said, referring to the victim.

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A former hairdresser, the victim had retrained and worked at the school since September. She was a mother of a four-year-old boy and a councillor in a village near Nogent.

Her family called for a silent march to be held in Nogent on Friday.

‘No regret’

The suspect told investigators “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”, Devallois said, adding she was not the one killed.

“He stated that he had, as early as the next day, Saturday, mulled over a plan to kill a monitor,” the prosecutor added.

“He grabbed the largest knife in his home to, in his words, ’cause the most damage'”.

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The teenager did not appear to suffer from any “mental disorder”, but appeared “detached” and expressed “no regret” for the killing, Devallois said.

In the wake of the attack, authorities promised measures to tackle knife crime among children.

Macron said on Tuesday he was proposing banning social media for children under 15.

Greece has spearheaded a proposal backed by France and Spain for the European Union to limit children’s use of online platforms.

Macron said France would go ahead with a unilateral ban if no progress was made on an EU-wide measure.

– By: © Agence France-Presse