Prosecutors are investigating the death of the teen in Poissy, west of Paris, who killed himself on Tuesday, September 5, after suffering from bullying at school. With children returning to school this week, the case has brought the issue of bullying back to the center of debates on education.
The teen had reported being bullied in December last year, while his parents complained in spring that the case was not being treated seriously enough by his school, Education Minister Gabriel Attal said Wednesday. Prosecutors told Agence France-Presse that they are being "very cautious" about the causes of his death.
"It's an emotion that compels all of us when a 15-year-old child can't see any solution other than taking his own life," government spokesman Olivier Véran told radio station France Inter.
France's first lady Brigitte Macron will visit the family on Thursday, the government said. A former teacher, she has made fighting school and cyber-bullying one of her personal causes while her husband serves as president.
Around one in 10 French school children are believed to suffer from bullying, which shot up the government's priority list after the suicide of a 13-year-old girl in northern France earlier this year.
"Bullying in school is a scourge. Hundreds of thousands of young people are victims... we can't ignore anything at all, we can't think that this is just rough-and-tumble among kids," Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said on Sunday.
New provisions for the 2023-24 school year include changes meaning perpetrators of bullying can be transferred to a different school, rather than forcing victims to move. Every school will have a staff member responsible for fighting bullying, Attal said, adding that they will also be required to "systematically" refer cases to prosecutors.