The victim, known only as Samara, has already come out of a coma but was “severely injured” in the attack in front of the Arthur Rimbaud school in the La Mosson-La Bailade district on Tuesday afternoon. Immigrant residents, from contract with solicitors.
The incident comes at a time when tensions are rising in French schools, with dozens of messages threatening attacks sent through the internal messaging system.
The three alleged attackers were arrested on suspicion of attempting to murder the boy. One of the accused, a teenager of the same age and studying in the same school, confessed to beating up the victim. The other two minors arrested are aged 14 and 15.
The victim's mother, Hasiba, told press conferences that her daughter had been bullied by a classmate for two-and-a-half years, possibly because her behavior and dress were considered un-Islamic. “I don't really understand why this kid kept attacking Samara, but there's something. I think she's a little more generous than some of the students,” he said on BFMTV.
Hasiba accused her colleague of “sponsoring” the attack and said the student was suspended for two days in June 2023.
However, one student, who did not want to be identified, said she thought the incident had “nothing to do with wearing a certain dress” and accused the other girl of posting an insulting photo of her on social media.
The other four students repeated the same story.