Stabbed Outside a School in Haute-Marne, Mélanie G., 31, Dies After an Attack by a 14-Year-Old Student

A chilling tragedy unfolded Tuesday morning at the entrance of the Françoise-Dolto middle school in Nogent, Haute-Marne. Mélanie G., a 31-year-old educational assistant, was fatally stabbed shortly before 8 a.m. by a 14-year-old student during a bag check conducted in the presence of the gendarmerie. Despite rapid intervention by emergency services, the young woman succumbed to her injuries later that morning.

According to the local education authority, the attack took place as students were arriving for class. The bag check operation—scheduled well in advance as part of a broader strategy to prevent school violence—was not enough to stop the assailant. Gendarmes on site immediately subdued the attacker, who is now in custody. The investigation has been entrusted to the Chaumont research brigade and the Reims investigative unit.

A Teenager Without a Record, With an Unexpected Profile

The suspect, a ninth-grade student, was not known to police. From a stable household, with both parents employed, he had even been named a “bullying ambassador” by the school. Although he had received two temporary suspensions earlier in the year for classroom disruptions, no recent concerns had been flagged. According to the Minister of Education, his teachers are “in total shock.” Silent in custody, the teenager has so far offered no explanation for his actions. A psychiatric evaluation is under consideration.

Mélanie G., a Supervisor “Loved by Everyone”

A former hairdresser who had recently transitioned to education, Mélanie G. had been working at the school since last September. “She truly loved her job and wanted to help young people,” said one of her relatives. A mother to a young boy, she leaves behind a devastated school community. A psychological support unit has been deployed for students, staff, and witnesses, and classes have been suspended until further notice.

A Climate of Shock and Outrage

The tragedy sent shockwaves far beyond Nogent. In the National Assembly, lawmakers observed a minute of silence. President Emmanuel Macron condemned what he called a “senseless surge of violence,” while the Minister of Education visited the scene, calling for tighter regulation of bladed weapons and better mental health support for students.

Prime Minister François Bayrou floated the idea of testing weapon-detection gates at school entrances and urged the country to “fundamentally rethink our response to these increasingly frequent acts.”

The emotional toll is especially heavy within education unions. “Our colleague was simply doing her job. She shouldn’t have died this way,” lamented the SE-Unsa union. Organizations emphasize that educational assistants are not law enforcement officers or security guards, but rather human and pedagogical supports for students.

A Broader Context of Rising School Violence

This tragedy comes amid growing concerns over school safety, with an uptick in violent incidents around school grounds. Since late March, over 6,000 bag searches have been conducted in French middle and high schools, resulting in nearly 200 knives being confiscated. For many officials, this is a stark warning against what they describe as the “normalization of extreme violence,” and they are calling for decisive action.