French President Emmanuel Macron has called for a "strong" government response to those with "terrorist ideologies" following the stabbing death of a teacher in what he described as an "Islamic terrorist" attack.
In a message to teachers, school leaders, education personnel, and students in France, Macron expressed that this morning, Dominique Bernard should have been returning to the Gambetta School complex in Arras to perform his noble profession.
A senior advisor to Macron stated that the French president wants his ministers to "embody a harsh state towards anyone who supports hatred and terrorist ideologies." He has called on the police to review "files of extremists that could be deported from France to ensure that no one is overlooked," and requested the Interior Minister to adopt a "special approach towards youth aged 16 to 25 from the Caucasus."
On Monday morning, a photographer from Reuters captured images of the evacuation of a secondary school in Arras following a bomb threat. This is the same school where a teacher was stabbed on Friday.
Earlier, a 20-year-old man attacked staff at the Gambetta high school in Arras, Pas-de-Calais department in northern France, using a knife. During the attack, the assailant shouted "God is Great," and was arrested by police, revealing that he belonged to monitored Islamist extremists and was on a list of individuals posing a threat to national security (S file).
The attack resulted in the murder of a teacher and left two others with serious injuries. Local authorities confirmed these details, and the assailant's brother was arrested near another school, with some sources reporting that he is Moftar Mugushkov, previously convicted for spreading materials related to the terrorist organization ISIS.
