Man rams car into pedestrians, cyclists in western France, 10 injured

PARIS – A driver ploughed a car into pedestrians and cyclists on France’s Oleron island off the Atlantic coast on Nov 5, wounding at least 10 people, including four seriously, before being arrested, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on X.

The 35-year-old suspect “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.

The police used a taser while arresting the suspect as he attempted to set fire to his car, a source following the case said, asking not to be named as the person was not authorised to speak to the press.

When arrested, the man cried, “God is the greatest” in Arabic, Mr Laraize 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, Mr Laraize added, saying he was being investigated for alleged “attempted murder”.

The French media said the motive for the attack remained unclear and that the anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office was not in charge of the inquiry at this stage. The prosecutor’s office could not immediately be reached for comment.

At least 10 people were injured when the suspect’s car hit them in various areas of Oleron island, the mayor of Dolus-d’Oleron, Mr Thibault Brechkoff, told BFM TV.

Le Parisien newspaper said investigators were looking into the possibility that the suspect might be mentally disturbed.

The man was previously known to police for petty crime including driving while drunk, as well as drug-related offences, local newspaper Charente Libre and other French media outlets reported, citing the mayor of Saint-Pierre d’Oleron, Mr Christophe Sueur.

Charente Libre newspaper named the suspect as “Jacques G” and said he was French. It did not cite its sources.

France has been rocked by a series of jihadist attacks in recent years.

In 2016, a Tunisian man ploughed a 19-tonne truck into crowds in the southern city of Nice, killing 86 people. The terror group ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.

France will next week mark a decade since the attack on the Bataclan concert hall and other locations in Paris, that were also claimed by ISIS and killed 130 people. REUTERS, AFP