A primary school teacher was on the receiving end of a punch from a disgruntled parent on Thursday after her daughter complained of having been told off in class.

The incident occurred at a primary school in Sauvian in southern France, according to a report in the Midilibre daily.

The attack was provoked by a reprimand dealt out to the young schoolgirl earlier in the day. The dressing down was reported to have been a routine matter, at least until it was time for the children to go home at the end of the school day.

After the schoolgirl had told her mum about the day's events, she decided to seek out the teacher for an explanation.

The newspaper reported that what began as an amiable parent-teacher exchange soon took a turn for the worse. The mother proceeded to lose her cool and executed a punch to the teacher's torso, striking her on the shoulder.

The incident occurred in the car park outside of the school premises.

The teacher is reported to have been shocked by the incident, but that it is not expected to interfere with her work.

The mother will however be summoned to explain herself on either Tuesday or Wednesday next week. The woman is not reported to have any prior criminal convictions.