Ten wounded, including four seriously, after car rams into pedestrians and cyclists in France

LAST UPDATE | 9 hrs ago

A 35-YEAR-OLD man has rammed his car into pedestrians and cyclists on the French Atlantic island of Oleron, wounding 10 people, including four seriously.

The Oleron resident “deliberately hit several pedestrians and cyclists” along a main road on the scenic island off the western city of La Rochelle, prosecutor Arnaud Laraize said.

Police used a taser to arrest the suspect as he attempted to set fire to his car, a source following the case said, asking not to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the press.

When arrested, the man cried “God is the greatest” in Arabic, the prosecutor said. The expression is a key refrain in Islam, but also used by militants carrying out attacks.

The man’s motive was not immediately clear, Laraize added, saying he was being investigated for alleged “attempted murder”.

He was already known to the police for petty crimes, and investigators had not dismissed the possibility he had a psychiatric disorder.

A second source following the case earlier said the man had “deliberately hit” the victims on different stretches of the road.

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The prosecutor said the incidents occurred on a road between Dolus d’Oleron and Saint-Pierre d’Oleron.

The mayor of Dolus d’Oleron, Thibault Brechkoff, confirmed the suspect was a resident and said “several” incidents had taken place.

He said a “crisis unit” had been established and that “all services are mobilised to manage the situation”.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said he was heading to the area and would speak to the press later.

In a post to X, a spokesperson for the far-right National Rally said that a parliamentary assistant to the local MP is among the injured.

The injured woman is an aide to Pascal Markowsky, who is said to have been “urgently evacuated” following the incident. 

– © AFP2025