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Dijon School Arson Shuts Collège Champollion for Months as Police Hunt Four Attackers

Officials cite a likely arson linked to drug‑trafficking reprisals, with nearly 500 pupils set to be relocated after the holidays.

Overview

  • Prosecutors opened an inquiry for deliberate destruction by fire after multiple simultaneous ignition points and inflammable containers were found at the Grésilles campus.
  • Authorities say a four‑person commando entered around 1 a.m. and fled; investigators are searching for the suspects and have reported no arrests.
  • Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez and Education Minister Édouard Geffray visited the site, with Nuñez pointing to probable reprisals tied to recent anti‑drug operations in the neighborhood.
  • Roughly twenty classrooms and the computer room were devastated and electrical systems damaged, forcing a closure until at least the next school year.
  • Psychological support and short‑term remote teaching are in place this week, and students will be redistributed across other Dijon middle schools after the Christmas break.