PARIS: In the final stretch before a high-stakes French legislative election on July 7, several candidates have reported being attacked on the campaign trail, including government spokesperson Prisca Thevenot.
Thevenot, a candidate for the centrist Ensemble alliance led by President Emmanuel Macron, her deputy and a party activist were putting up election posters near Paris on Wednesday night when a group attacked them, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said on the social media platform X.
Four people, including three minors, are in custody, prosecutors said.
Politicians on all sides condemned the attack and others on candidates that have been reported in recent days.
Also on Wednesday, Marie Dauchy, a National Rally candidate in Savoy, said she was assaulted at a food market while campaigning and announced she was abandoning the race. Nicolas Conquer, a candidate for The Republicans, said on social media that he was assaulted while distributing election flyers in the city of Cherbourg on July 2.