France Victim of bullying at school a teenager attempts suicide

France: Victim of bullying at school, a teenager attempts suicide in the middle of class

We learned on Thursday from a police source and the principal's office that a final year student who was the victim of harassment had attempted suicide in the middle of class at a high school in the east of Toulouse.

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“Around 9:30 a.m., a graduating student from the Stéphane Hessel High School in Toulouse attempted suicide in class,” a press release from the rectorate told AFP.

According to a police source, the young man, born in 2005, who left a letter justifying his actions and alleging “school harassment by an individual,” stabbed himself in the stomach in the classroom.

“He was immediately treated by high school staff and then evacuated to a hospital by SAMU,” the principal’s office said.

Police said Thursday that the young man was “doing much better,” adding that he “will be heard when his condition permits.”

According to the principal's office, “the students in his class were taken to the high school's documentation center (CDI), where they benefited from collective and individual support” from a psychological department.

“The listening cell set up yesterday morning (Wednesday, editor's note) will be extended until the end of the week” and “the academic services have also sent a nurse and a social worker as reinforcements,” the rectorate underlined, adding that an investigation “Work is currently underway to shed light on this matter.”