Nice: mother suspected of attacking nursery school head placed under formal investigation and jailed

The mother of pupils suspected of attacking the head teacher and a teacher at the Clément-Roassal nursery school in Nice has been jailed. Brought before an investigating judge on Wednesday afternoon, she was placed under formal investigation, notably for attempted murder and unlawful detention. France 3 also cites weapons offences, possession of false documents and attempted escapes. The liberty and custody judge then remanded her in custody, following a hearing that opened at 7pm. She remains presumed innocent.

A good mum

Before the judge, she gave her version, reported by France 3: she said she had done it out of love and that she was a good mum, then added that she had no intention of killing. She says she wanted to protect her son, after things he allegedly told her about a teacher, and admits she did not think about the consequences.

The prosecution considers this version bears no relation to the reality of the facts. It highlighted a risk of flight: ties in Tunisia, irregular status, a presumed ability to obtain false papers. It also cited convictions for armed violence in 2019 and 2023, and opposed holding the hearing behind closed doors.

Almost an hour in the office

The events took place on Monday 2 November. According to the Nice prosecutor's office, the 36-year-old woman asked for an urgent meeting with the head teacher. Armed with a knife and a firearm, she allegedly remained in her office for around an hour. The head teacher says she was threatened, hit and pulled by the hair. A teacher she came across on the way out was slapped and threatened with the weapon.

The attack did not take place in front of the children, and school resumed as normal on Tuesday. Identified thanks to surveillance cameras, the suspect was arrested shortly afterwards at her home, where investigators seized a knife and several passports, some of which may be fake. A partial video of the exchanges was found on her phone.

In police custody, she at first denied any violence, then said she had wanted to frighten the head teacher, according to France 3. She admitted pulling the trigger of her weapon several times knowing it was empty, and expresses regret, AFP reports.

Fake weapon or not?

One point remains to be cleared up: the weapon has not been found. Interior minister Laurent Nuñez told MPs it was a weapon that was fortunately fake. The prosecutor's office, for its part, notes that it looks like an automatic pistol in the video, and the head teacher says she perceived it to be made of metal.

Already known to the authorities

According to prosecutor Damien Martinelli, the suspect is on a watch list for Islamist radicalisation and has been monitored on that basis. However, no religious remarks were noted during the attack, he says. She has already been convicted twice, notably for armed violence, franceinfo reports.

Laurent Nuñez says she is in an irregular situation, under house arrest and has been subject since 2019 to an administrative ban from French territory. She allegedly mentioned sexual assaults said to have been suffered by one of her children, but no complaint or report has been recorded, according to the prosecutor.

Ciotti denounces laxity

Nice mayor Éric Ciotti denounces the state's powerlessness and laxity and is announcing a security audit of all the city's schools. The prosecutor praised the victims' composure. Education minister Édouard Geffray promised to support them over the long term and is due to visit Nice at the end of the week.

What next?

A judicial investigation is now open. It will have to establish the motive and the exact nature of the weapon, which has still not been found.