French authorities have introduced random backpack checks for middle and high school students as a preventive measure against serious incidents.
According to BFMTV, the government has instructed the police to conduct inspections at school entrances, particularly in colleges and lycées. Additionally, schools requiring increased attention will be identified, with their list regularly reviewed.
The primary goal of these measures is to detect knives and other potentially dangerous objects. Education Minister Élisabeth Borne and Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau personally visited a Parisian lycée to observe the inspection process.
The stricter measures were prompted by recent incidents involving bladed weapons among teenagers. On March 24, a 17-year-old boy was killed near a school in a suburb of Paris, leading to the arrest of six individuals. Shortly before that, another high school student was stabbed.
The rise in youth violence is not limited to France. In Sweden, authorities propose lowering the age of criminal responsibility for serious crimes to 14, while in Finland, stricter penalties for group offenses and degrading violence are being considered.
Europol has also expressed concern over the spread of online chat groups targeting teenagers, where violence and crime are normalized or where individuals are encouraged to harm themselves.
