A 16-year-old boy was taken into custody in Marseille on Sunday in connection with the assault of a teacher outside the Lycée Méditerranée in La Ciotat, southern France, according to a source close to the investigation.
The arrest follows an incident on Friday in which a physics and chemistry teacher was sprayed with a flammable liquid near a tree fire at the edge of a student gathering outside the school. The teacher has filed a formal complaint.
Video Captures Masked Attacker
Footage circulating on social media shows the teacher attempting to extinguish a fire near a tree when a masked individual dressed in black runs toward him and sprays him with a liquid. The teacher is standing immediately beside the flames at the time of the attack.
In an earlier account, the teacher described the ordeal, saying: “I was doused with petrol.”
Prosecutors Open Investigation
The Marseille prosecutor’s office announced on Saturday evening that it had opened an investigation into “violence resulting in incapacity for work of eight days or less,” with three aggravating circumstances: use of a weapon, concealment of the face, and targeting a person entrusted with a public service mission.
The incident occurred amid a wave of student protests and school blockades across France, which have been marked by escalating tensions between demonstrators and authorities.
