A teacher has been stabbed to death by a pupil at a high school in the town of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, in southwest France, government officials said on Wednesday.

Students fled in panic after the stabbing, local newspaper Sud Ouest said. The teacher was 50 years old, it said, and the stabbing took place in a Roman Catholic school.

Police arrested the student, who told officers he was possessed and heard voices that instructed him to attack the teacher, according to local media including BFM TV.

Government spokesman Olivier Veran said the attacker was 16 years old.

"My thoughts are with the family, colleagues and students. I will be going to the site straight away," said Education Minister Pap Ndiaye.