Violence in France

Candidate attacked while pasting election posters

Prisca Thevenot (pictured) is a candidate for Emmanuel Macron's Ensemble alliance.

(Bild: AFP/Ludovic Marin)

Ahead of the decisive round of the French parliamentary elections, acts of violence are now on the increase. On Thursday, government spokeswoman Prisca Thevenot (pictured above), who is standing as a candidate in the parliamentary elections, was attacked while putting up posters.

Two people close to her were taken to hospital injured, one of them with a broken jaw. "Violence is not the answer. I am continuing my election campaign," wrote Thevenot, who is running for Emmanuel Macron's Ensemble alliance, on the online service X (formerly Twitter; see post below) on Thursday.

Thevenot filed a complaint. The profile of the perpetrators is still unknown. According to the newspaper "Le Parisien", four young people were taken into custody, three of them minors. They are said to have previously defaced the election posters.

"As a mother, it scares me"
 A few hours before the incident, Thevenot had expressed concern in an interview that racism was on the rise during the election campaign. "As a mother of two children, it scares me," said the 39-year-old, whose parents come from the island of Mauritius. A candidate from the right-wing populist party Rassemblement National (RN/National Union) had told her that she should "go back to her island".

Several attacks on candidates
Several other candidates have already been attacked before her, including an RN candidate who filed a complaint. Health Minister Frédéric Valletoux denounced the increasing tensions during the election campaign, such as "insults during meetings that quickly degenerate".

Following reports about RN candidates who had attracted attention for racist remarks, RN politician Marine Le Pen admitted that there were "black sheep", "like everywhere". There had been some "unacceptable statements", but also some that were merely "clumsy", she explained, accusing the media of "inquisitorial" behavior.

Dozens of "problematic RN candidates"
The investigative magazine "Mediapart" published a list of 80 "problematic" RN candidates, including one who was in favor of a "cleansed and safe France". Another called on black actor Omar Sy to stay in the US.

Among the RN candidates is the founder of a pro-Russian lobbying organization. One candidate, who had herself photographed wearing a Nazi cap, has since withdrawn her candidacy.

The second, decisive round of the National Assembly elections will take place on Sunday. The RN is ahead in the polls, but the distribution of seats is difficult to predict. A good 200 candidates have withdrawn from constituencies with tripartite constellations (three remaining candidates) in order to reduce the chances of the respective RN candidate in their constituency.

As 76 candidates have already prevailed in the first round with an absolute majority, only 501 out of 577 constituencies are still on the ballot.