Death of bullied 9-year-old primary school student shakes France

Former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal wrote on X: 'Bullying is a scourge, a slow poison that erodes self-confidence and can lead to the worst'.

A 9-year-old girl was found dead in her home in northeastern France, prosecutors and police sources said, pointing to a likely death by suicide after she was bullied.

Former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal today expressed his condolences to the family, after the girl’s body was found on Sunday in the town of Sarreguemines.

“Bullying is a scourge, a slow poison that erodes self-confidence and can lead to the worst,” the ex-education minister, who last year founded an association to fight harassment in school, wrote on X.

Regional education authorities said they were “shaken by this tragic event” while the public prosecutor’s office said an investigation was ongoing.

It said it seemed to have been “a voluntary act by the girl” but did not provide further details.

Police sources said the child had left a letter to her family.

Her mother said her primary school classmates had bullied her, calling her overweight, and she had previously mentioned killing herself, the source added.

White roses dotted the railings outside the school today.

Someone close the girl’s family, who asked to remain anonymous, claimed that the school had been made aware of the bullying.

Abnor, a 9-year-old fellow pupil, said the girl had been bullied on her way home.

“In class, she laughed, she was a little cheerful, but sometimes [other children] insulted her,” he said outside the school, where he was with his mother.

“It’s not nice,” he added.

“We’re in a school to learn, to get a good job, to earn money. It’s not a place for bullying - not here nor anywhere else in the world.”

SUICIDE AND DEPRESSION

Where to get help:

• Lifeline: Call 0800 543 354 or text 4357 (HELP) (available 24/7)
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)
• Youth services: (06) 3555 906
• Youthline: Call 0800 376 633 or text 234
• What’s Up: Call 0800 942 8787 (11am to 11pm) or webchat (11am to 10.30pm)
• Depression helpline: Call 0800 111 757 or text 4202 (available 24/7)
• Aoake te Rā – Free, brief therapeutic support service for those bereaved by suicide. Call 0800 000 053.
• Eating Disorders Carer Support NZ: online support to parents and carers of people with eating disorders or disordered eating.
• Helpline: Need to talk? Call or text 1737

If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111

-Agence France-Presse