Black-clad assailants beat up a far-right candidate while campaigning ahead of a snap parliamentary election in France, echoing violence against politicians in Germany and elsewhere in Europe amid a fierce political atmosphere, Le Point reports.
Ten days before the first round of legislative elections, which will be held on June 30 and July 7 following the dissolution of the Assembly, a candidate for the Rassemblement Nationale was attacked in the Loire prefecture on Thursday June 20. He suffered a stroke and was taken to hospital.
According to an RN activist reported by local radio station France Bleu, 68-year-old Herve Breuil, the party’s candidate in the 2nd constituency of the Loire, was attacked along with four other RN activists as they were leaving the Albert-Thomas market.
The incident occurred at around 11:30 a.m. when Herve Breuil and his supporters were leaving the venue after handing out leaflets. It was then that four men “wearing masks and dressed in all black” allegedly threatened and pushed the group. Under unclear circumstances, the RN candidate, who had a pacemaker installed, suffered a stroke as a result of stress and was taken to hospital. According to the party, Herve Breuil was still in hospital on Thursday evening.
According to Michel Lucas, a spokesman for the RN department in the Loire who spoke to Le Parisien, three complaints were filed after the incident and video footage of the attack was sent to the police. An investigation into the “assault” has been launched.
