France to ban social media and knife sales to minors after school stabbing shocks nation

New Delhi: French authorities have announced plans to ban social media for children under the age of 15 and prohibit the sale of knives to minors, following the fatal stabbing of a teaching assistant by a 14-year-old student in Nogent, eastern France. The incident has stirred widespread grief and concern across the country, prompting urgent calls for reform in child safety and school security.

The 31-year-old school assistant, identified as Mélanie, was killed during a bag search at the secondary school on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. The teenager was arrested at the scene, and officials confirmed that he would remain in custody until Thursday morning. Investigations into the motive remain ongoing, with limited information released so far.

In the wake of the tragedy, the school community and local residents gathered to mourn the loss, leaving flowers and handwritten messages outside the school gates. "We share your pain," read one message among the tributes.

Laurence Raclot, who knew the victim, described her as "great with kids". “She was great with kids,” she said. “In a quiet little town, we never would have thought this could happen.” Mélanie, a former hairdresser who had retrained and started working at the school in September, was the mother of a four-year-old and served as a councillor in a nearby village. “There are no words,” said another local, Sabrina Renault. “It’s really sad for her whole family, for that little boy who’s left without his mum.”

The French government has responded with a series of proposed measures aimed at addressing youth violence and the influence of digital platforms. President Emmanuel Macron announced on X (formerly Twitter) that he would push for a nationwide ban on social media for under-15s. “I am proposing banning social media for children under 15,” he wrote. “Platforms have the ability to verify age. Let’s do it.”

Macron indicated that if the European Union did not act swiftly on this front, France would move forward independently. “We cannot wait,” he told broadcaster France 2.

The French government is also moving to tighten knife regulations. Prime Minister François Bayrou announced that a ban on knife sales to minors would be introduced through a decree within two weeks. “The list will include ‘any knife that can be used as a weapon’,” he told TF1, adding that the measure would take effect “immediately”.

Bayrou also called for greater vigilance among parents and teachers, urging them to watch for “signs that a teenager is not doing well,” while acknowledging the challenges posed by a shortage of mental health professionals. He suggested the trial use of metal detectors in schools, although Education Minister Élisabeth Borne expressed caution, noting that some weapons, such as ceramic blades, might go undetected.

Borne also raised concerns about the digital exposure of young people. “Young people should be protected from ‘overexposure to screens’,” she said during an interview with France Inter radio. She announced that a minute’s silence would be held in all French schools at midday on Thursday to honour Mélanie. “The entire educational community is in shock, as is the whole nation,” she said.

However, the government’s proposals have faced criticism from trade unions. Sophie Venetitay, general secretary of the SNES-FSU teachers’ union, said that teaching assistants were being increasingly asked to take on security duties. “Little by little, we have seen attempts to turn them into security guards,” she said.

Rémy Reynaud of the CGT Educ’action union also raised concerns about the government’s decision to conduct bag searches. “They increase tensions,” he said, noting that school staff were under pressure to participate in security measures not outlined in their job descriptions.