A preschool teacher who claimed to have been attacked by a masked assailant invoking Islamic State (Isis) has admitted he made up the story, French prosecutors have said.

The attack reported on Monday by the teacher set off a manhunt in the northern Paris suburb of Aubervilliers, but he later admitted under questioning from prosecutors that the story had been a lie.

Both the Paris prosecutor’s office and the local prosecutor said the teacher was still being questioned on Monday afternoon over why he made up the story of the attack.

The 45-year old teacher at Jean Perrin nursery school had earlier claimed that a man in overalls and a balaclava had arrived while he was preparing his class on Monday, grabbed a box cutter and scissors that were in the room, and attacked him.

The teacher further claimed that the man shouted: “This is Daesh. This is a warning.” Daesh is another name for Isis.

The teacher was hospitalised with light knife wounds in his side and throat.

The false report comes as France remains in a state of emergency after the attacks in Paris on 13 November by Isis-linked extremists that left 130 people dead and hundreds wounded.



A few weeks later, Isis urged its followers to attack teachers in France, saying the secular education system was poisoning young minds.



French schools have imposed strict security measures since attacks in January, with doors locked during the day, identity checks for visitors and periodic bag searches. Families dropping off or picking up children are not permitted to linger near schools’ entrances, and children are not allowed to wait outside for the doors to open.

Monday’s false claim even prompted a visit to the school in Aubervilliers by the education minister, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, who vowed to boost security at France’s schools.