The funeral of Dominique Bernard, the professor stabbed to death by a radicalized young man in Arras on October 13, will take place Thursday at Arras Cathedral in the presence of Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron, the diocese and the Elysium.
This funeral will be presided over by the Bishop of Arras Olivier Leborgne, the diocese told AFP.
Dominique Bernard, 57, a French teacher at the secondary school, was killed on Friday in front of the Gambetta secondary school by a young Russian aged 20, registered as S and followed by the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI), who had been educated in the building. Three people were also injured in the attack.
A visit to Villers-Cotterêts canceled
The Head of State was initially scheduled to go to Villers-Cotterêts, in Aisne, on Thursday to inaugurate the International City of the French Language, an appointment therefore postponed indefinitely.
Three years after the assassination of Samuel Paty, which aroused considerable emotion throughout the country, the Arras attack once again caused fear, particularly among teachers. A minute of silence was observed Monday afternoon in all middle and high schools in France in tribute to Dominique Bernard.
Emmanuel Macron promised Monday on X (formerly Twitter) that the school would remain a “bulwark against obscurantism”. The government has strengthened security around all educational establishments.
France was placed on “emergency attack” alert on Friday, with 7,000 soldiers deployed in the territory. Since his arrest, the Arras attacker, Mohammed Mogouchkov, who shouted “Allah Akbar” according to witnesses, “has not spoken”, according to a police source. Eight other people were still in custody on Monday.