Violence is now escalating ahead of the final round of France’s parliamentary elections. On Thursday, government spokeswoman Prisca Thevenot (pictured above), who is running for parliament, was attacked while putting up posters.
Two people close to her were injured and taken to hospital, one of them with a broken jaw. “Violence is not the answer. “I am continuing my election campaign,” Thevenot, who is running for Emmanuel Macron’s Alliance Ensemble, wrote on Thursday on the online service X (formerly Twitter; see message below).
Thevenot has filed a complaint. The profile of the perpetrators is currently unknown. According to information from the newspaper Le Parisien, four young people – three of whom are minors – have been taken into custody. They are said to have previously defaced election posters.
“As a mother, I’m afraid of this.”
A few hours before the incident, Thevenot expressed his concerns in an interview about the growing racism during the election campaign. “As a mother of two, this scares me,” said the 39-year-old, whose parents are from the island of Mauritius. A candidate from the right-wing populist Rassemblement National (RN/National Association) party told her to “go back to her island.”
Several attacks on candidates
Several other candidates have been attacked before her, including an RN candidate who has filed a complaint himself. Health Minister Frédéric Valletoux denounced the growing tensions in the election campaign, such as “insults during site visits that quickly escalate.”
Following reports that RN candidates were being singled out for racist remarks, RN politician Marine Le Pen admitted that there were “black sheep”, “as everywhere”. There were some “unacceptable statements”, but also some that were merely “clumsy”, she explained, accusing the media of “inquisitorial” behaviour.
Dozens of “problematic RN candidates”
The investigative magazine “Mediapart” published a list of 80 “problematic” RN candidates, including one who advocated a “clean and safe France”. Another called on the black actor Omar Sy to remain in the United States.
The RN candidates also include the founder of a pro-Russian lobby organization. A candidate who had herself photographed wearing a Nazi cap has since withdrawn her candidacy.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 estimate. More than 200 candidates have withdrawn from constituencies with three-way constellations (three remaining candidates) in order to reduce the chances of the RN candidate in their constituency.
Since 76 candidates have already won with an absolute majority in the first round, only 501 of the 577 constituencies will vote.
Source: Krone
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