Prosecutors say French school attacker pledged allegiance to Islamic State

A French police officer outside the Gambetta high school in Arras, north-eastern France on October 16, 2023, three days after a teacher was killed and two other people were badly wounded in a knife attack. © DENIS CHARLET / AFP

The man who stabbed to death a French schoolteacher last week had recorded himself before the attack saying he was acting for the Islamic State group, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

The suspect is due to appear before a judge to be formally charged, while two of his teenage relatives are also facing prosecution for aiding or failing to stop the attack.