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At least four people are in a critical condition and six others are injured after a driver rammed into a crowd on the French island of Ile d’Oleron.
The driver, who was arrested after being tasered by police, attempted to set fire to his vehicles with a number of gas cylinders in his car after plowing into the crowd of pedestrians and cyclists, French media reported.
An attempted murder investigation has been launched, La Rochelle public prosecutor Arnaud Laraize said, but the anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office is “not involved at this stage”.
The injured reportedly include the parliamentary assistant of National Rally MP Pascal Markowsky, who is in a critical condition. Le Parisien reports the rest are aged between 22 and 67 years old.
The suspect is a 35-year-old man who is known locally for his “numerous transgressions, notably due to his regular consumption of drugs and alcohol”, the mayor of Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron, Christophe Sueur, told Le Parisien.
He lives in La Cotinière (Charente-Maritime), a small fishing village 4 kilometers on Ile d’Oleron, a western island connected by road to the French mainland region of Rochefort.
“At the time of his arrest, [the man] shouted Allah Akbar. However, the motive is not confirmed and the investigation will have to determine it ,” Mr Laraize added to the outlet.
The suspect is not believed to be on the French authorities’ list for the prevention of radicalisation leading to terrorism, Le Figaro reported.
The attack took place on Wednesday morning, at around 8:45am between two villages on the island of Oléron, Dolus-d’Oléron and Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron.
Mr Markowsky said his 21-year-old parliamentary assistant was “jogging and was alone at the spot where she was hit”.
He told BFMTV: “She lost consciousness at first and afterwards she was able to say her name, which for us is the best sign. I hope everything will turn out well for her.”
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There were reportedly gas cylinders in the car (REUTERS/)
Victims were airlifted to the University Hospital of Poitiers, while a psychological support unit has been set up at Château d’Oléron.
Thibault Brechkoff, the mayor of Dolus-sur-Oléron, told BFMTV that “all municipal services are mobilised to the maximum”, adding that “two helicopters are on site and are sending the seriously injured to Poitiers”.
French president Emmanuel Macron is following the situation from his plane which is en route to Brazil, according to political reporter for BFMTV.
Interior minister Laurent Nunez, who has arrived on site and is expected to issue speak publicly this afternoon, said in a post on X: “A motorist struck several pedestrians and cyclists on his route in Saint Pierre d´Oléron and Dolus d’Oléron. The suspect has been taken into custody by the gendarmes. An investigation has been opened.
“At the request of the Prime Minister, I am heading to the scene.”
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The incident took place on Ile d’Oleron (Till Niermann/Wikimedia)
Yaël Braun-Pivet, the president of the National Assembly, issued “thoughts to the people injured this morning on the island of Oléron, victims of an attack of unprecedented violence”.
She added on X: “I also wish to express my solidarity with MP Pascal Markowsky and his parliamentary team, one of whose members is seriously injured. Justice must respond with all the necessary clarity and firmness.”
Jordan Bardella, the president of the far-right National Rally, wrote on X: “All my thoughts are with the people injured this morning on the island of Oléron. We hope for a favorable and rapid evolution of their condition.
“The perpetrator of this blind and deliberate violence must be given an exemplary punishment.”