A French nursery school teacher who claimed he was stabbed in his classroom by an Islamic State supporter has admitted to prosecutors that he invented the story.
The 45-year-old teacher at a school in Aubervilliers, northeast of Paris, was hospitalised on Monday (local time) with light stab wounds in his side and throat.
He had earlier claimed that a man in overalls and a balaclava had arrived while he was preparing his class, grabbed a box cutter and scissors that were in the room, and attacked him.
The teacher further claimed that the man shouted: "This is Daesh. This is a warning." Daesh is another name for IS.
Prosecutors said they were still questioning the teacher, whose injuries were not considered life-threatening, over why he lied.
With France on edge a month on from attacks in Paris, and with the IS calling for attacks on French schools, the investigation was immediately taken over by anti-terrorism prosecutors.
The case even prompted a visit by Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, who vowed to boost security at France's schools.
The teacher was said to have worked at the school for 20 years, and was "appreciated", according to the town mayor, Pascal Beaudet.
He was described by one parent, Nadia Perez, as "very involved in the life of the school".
"He was a personality at the school," she added.
"But he could be fairly tough on the kids. He did not tolerate them being impolite."
The Islamic State's French-language magazine Dar-al-Islam called in its November edition for its followers to kill teachers in the French education system, describing them as "enemies of Allah".
Last month's attacks by IS in Paris, that left 130 dead, sparked a three-month state of emergency across the county and led to a Europe-wide manhunt for suspects.
AFP
