Several Candidates in France Report Being Attacked Ahead of Voting

Prisca Thevenot was hanging up posters when she was attacked

Prisca Thevenot
Prisca Thevenot and members of her staff were attacked as they hung up campaign posters. AMAURY CORNU/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images

Several candidates running for office in France have reported being attacked on the campaign trail.

Among them is Prisca Thevenot, a candidate for the centrist Ensemble alliance led by President Emmanuel Macron.

She was with members of her campaign team putting up campaign posters on Wednesday when four young people came up and attacked them.

Thevenot was not hurt but she said her deputy and the party activist were taken to a hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries.

"Violence is never the answer," she said in a post on X.

Four people, including three minors, were taken into custody for the attack, according to the Associated Press.

"Violence and intimidation have no place in our democracy," Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said on X.

A candidate for Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally said she was "violently attacked" at a market on Wednesday.

Marie Dauchy said she was suspending her campaign due to the incident.

There have been other attacks reported on other candidates in the days leading up to the election. No candidate has been seriously injured.

French voters go to the polls on Sunday for a second round of voting.

National Rally secured 33% of the vote in the first round and is hoping to make further gains in the next phase of the election.

Tags
France, Politics
Real Time Analytics