Teenager in France sentenced to 15 years in prison for murdering educator

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Agnes Lassalle’s partner Stephane Voirin poses for the press at the entrance of the Pau courthouse as he wears a t-shirt honouring his late wife on the first day of the trial of her murderer in Pau, south-western France on April 21, 2026. The trial of the student accused of murdering Agnes Lassalle, a Spanish teacher stabbed to death in her classroom in 2023 in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, opened on April 21, 2026, behind closed doors before the juvenile assize court of the Pyrenees-Atlantiques, as judges examine in particular the criminal responsibility of the accused. (Photo by Gaizka IROZ / AFP)

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A French court on Friday sentenced a former high school student to 15 years in prison for the fatal stabbing of his Spanish teacher in 2023.

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Now 19, the defendant had been charged with murdering Agnes Lassalle, 53, at a school in the southwestern seaside town of Saint-Jean-de-Luz.

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After three hours of deliberation, judges at the juvenile criminal court imposed a sentence slightly below the 16 years requested by prosecutors and well under the maximum 20-year term he faced.

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Lassalle was stabbed in the chest during a lesson in February 2023. The court heard the student, then 16, locked the classroom door before attacking her with a kitchen knife he had taken from his father’s home.

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The trial, held behind closed doors in the city of Pau, focused on the teenager’s mental state, with psychiatric experts delivering conflicting assessments.

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The court ruled that his judgement was impaired at the time of the attack — a finding that could have reduced the sentence to 13 years — but said a longer term was justified given the “undeniable seriousness” of the crime.

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Lassalle’s death sparked widespread anger in France, especially after images emerged of her partner dancing alone beside her coffin during the funeral.

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