An 18-year-old pupil was detained in western France on Monday after stabbing his schoolteacher in the face and fleeing, authorities said.

The teacher from the town of Chemille-en-Anjou in western France suffered a facial injury that is not life-threatening, said a joint statement from the authorities including the prefect and public prosecutor.

After the attack at the Lycee de lHyrome on Monday morning, the suspect quickly left through the window, abandoning his weapon, according to the authorities. He was detained by gendarmes and municipal police.

The officials said In the statement that the young man was not previously known to the police, adding that counselling was provided to pupils and teachers after the attack.

An investigation into attempted murder has been launched.

France has in recent years been shaken by a series of school incidents involving attacks on teachers as well as school children by their peers.

In April, French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced measures to crack down on teenage violence in and around schools, as the government seeks to reclaim ground on security from the far-right ahead of upcoming European elections.

On May 10, a man was arrested for allegedly attacking a woman with a box cutter shot and seriously wounded two officers at a Paris police station after grabbing one of their weapons.

Four days after, another violent attack erupted as three French prison officers were killed and two others wounded in an attack on a prison van transporting an inmate who escaped. (AFP)