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Car rams pedestrians in France, injures 10; driver, 35, detained

Car rams pedestrians in France, injures 10; driver, 35, detained

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Among the injured, two were reported critical. The Interior Minister, Laurent Nuñez, said an investigation has been opened and he was heading to the scene.

A motorist rammed a vehicle into pedestrians and cyclists in a French island off the Atlantic coast on Wednesday (Nov 5) and critically injured nine people. The driver was detained by gendarmes. Among the injured, two were reported critical. The Interior Minister, Laurent Nuñez, said an investigation has been opened and he was heading to the scene. As per some reports, the 35-year-old Oleron resident “deliberately hit several pedestrians and cyclists” along a road joining two towns on the scenic island off the city of La Rochelle, prosecutor Arnaud Laraize said.

The suspect shouted “Allahu Akbar” (Arabic for “God is Greatest”) when arrested by police, the local prosecutor, Arnaud Laraize, told Sud Ouest newspaper.

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BFM reported that the suspect apprehended was known to the police for disorderly conduct and petty crime, including drunk driving. The French daily Le Parisien said investigators indicated the suspect may have had a history of mental health issues.

Yael Braun-Pivet, President of France’s lower house, the National Assembly, said her thoughts were "with those injured this morning on the island of Oleron, victims of an attack of unprecedented violence."

"The justice system must respond with all necessary clarity and determination," she wrote on X.

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Olivier Falorni, MP of the centrist Democrat Movement, addressed the National Assembly, saying that “there is a sense of shock in the country today, and deep concern for the victims.”

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Passionate about international politics and social issues, Gulshan analyses key global events, from geopolitical conflicts and US politics to international diplomacy and social mov...Read More

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