While on the campaign trail in Saint Etienne, Herve Breuil, the candidate for the French National Rally party, was ambushed by masked attackers.
Herve Breuil, a candidate for Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) party, was attacked by masked, black-clad attackers while doing a campaign stop in the industrial town of Saint Etienne, close to Lyon, France. This is a concerning indication of the rising political violence in Europe. According to police and local government sources, Breuil, who was campaigning for the impending snap parliamentary election, was hospitalized after the assault but is anticipated to be discharged shortly.
The assault on Breuil is a reflection of a troubling nationwide pattern of rising violence against political people in France, most of whom are mayors and local council members. There were 2,387 documented incidences of physical and verbal abuse against lawmakers in the first nine months of 2023—a number that already exceeds the 2,265 incidents registered for the whole of 2022. This is a consistent increase over the prior year, indicating mounting political strain.
Attack on the party’s candidate was denounced by Marine Le Pen, who blamed “far-left extremists” for it. “An election campaign in a democracy cannot be allowed to have such acts of extreme violence carried out by a far left which is prepared to do anything to sow chaos,” she said on the social networking platform X, expressing her displeasure.
The attack is the subject of an investigation by the police. This incident occurs in the midst of increased political unrest in France, which has been made worse by divisive speech and the impact of social media. Similar to Germany, France’s political climate has grown more divisive, with political factions frequently exchanging jabs.
President Emmanuel Macron called for the snap election following a significant defeat of his party by the RN in the recent European elections. Polls indicate that the RN is leading against the left-wing New Popular Front coalition as the country prepares for the two-round voting process on June 30 and July 7.
