Following a deadly attack on a school in Arras, France, where a Chechen-origin man fatally stabbed a teacher and wounded three others, the French government has decided to deploy 7,000 soldiers to enhance security. The attack, which occurred on Friday, has been labeled by President Emmanuel Macron as an act of “Islamist terror.”
President Macron declared the deployment of the soldiers, and this move will be completed by Monday evening, underscoring the seriousness of the situation. France has raised its alert level to the highest position after a security meeting chaired by Macron, during which he mentioned that another “attempted attack” had been thwarted by security forces.
The attack, which took place in Arras, a town in northeastern France with significant Jewish and Muslim populations, was condemned by President Macron, who visited the school following the incident. Macron praised the victim, the teacher, for his courage in trying to thwart the attacker and said he had “probably saved many lives.”
The suspected attacker, Mohammed Moguchkov, a man in his 20s with Chechen origins from Russia’s predominantly Muslim southern Caucasus region, has been taken into custody by the police. He was reportedly listed on a French national register known as “Fiche S,” which identifies individuals as potential security threats. France’s domestic intelligence agency, the DGSI, had been conducting electronic and physical surveillance on him.
The preliminary investigation into the attack revealed that Moguchkov cried out the Arabic phrase “Allahu akbar!” (God is greatest) during the assault, pointing to a possible Islamist motivation behind the attack.
This incident underscores the ongoing security challenges that France and many other countries face as they deal with the threat of terrorism, particularly from individuals with extremist ideologies. The government’s decision to deploy thousands of soldiers is aimed at enhancing security and preventing further attacks, as the nation grapples with the serious implications of this tragic event.