A man invoking the Islamic State group stabbed and wounded a primary school teacher in a Paris suburb on Monday morning, according to French police.
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Both the Paris prosecutor’s office and the local prosecutor said the teacher was being questioned. It was unclear how the man sustained his injuries.
An anonymous police official in Aubervilliers told the New York Times that it “was a fake attempt, done so that he could have himself transferred” to another job.
France remains under a state of emergency after the November 13 attacks by extremists linked to the Islamic State group that killed 130 people.
With France on edge and with the IS calling for attacks on French schools, the investigation had been immediately taken over by anti-terrorism prosecutors.
It also comes as after ISIS encouraged sympathizers to attack French teachers, since the secular education they provided was poisoning minds.
The attacker reportedly arrived wearing a balaclava and gloves but was unarmed and used weapons he found in the classroom.
According to reports, the attacker yelled: “It’s Daesh, it’s a warning”. The culprit fled the scene after the stabbing and police are now searching for him.
The Islamic State had in November urged its followers to kill teachers in the French education system for teaching secularism and being “in open war against the Muslim family”.
Classes have been cancelled at the school in Aubervilliers.
Eduction minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem said: “We will strengthen security around this institution and elsewhere”.
As authorities attempted to track down the alleged attacker the event triggered a manhunt in the northern suburb.
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Last week, she said the terrorist threat was “real and permanent”, adding: “All public places must be protected, particularly schools”.
