At least 10 people have been injured after a driver reportedly shouting "Allahu Akbar" rammed into a crowd in France.
The driver then attempted to set the vehicle on fire, French media reported, but was arrested as police rushed to the scene. Two of those hit by the car remain in an intensive care unit, according to local media reports.
The incident is not suspected to be a terror attack with the driver having "psychiatric issues" according the public prosecutor for the area.
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The attacker was known for "numerous criminal incidents related to his drug and alcohol use", said Christophe Sueur, the Mayor of Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron.
Investigators meanwhile said he was not on any anti-terrorism files, including ones that list radicalised suspects.
Jordan Bardella, leader of the National Rally, accused the driver of "blind and deliberate violence". Bardella posted on X: "All my thoughts are with the people injured this morning on the island of Oléron."
A test on the driver for alcohol proved negative, said a local police spokesman.
The suspect, who had minor convictions linked to drug and alcohol abuse, was identified as an unemployed local man living alone in a mobile home.
An investigating source said: ‘He was screaming Allah Akbar at the time of the attack on a country road, and while being arrested by police." ‘Allah Akbar’ – Arabic for ‘God is the Greatest’ – is regularly shouted by attackers linked to groups such as ISIS and Al Qaeda.
However Arnaud Laraize, the public prosecutor in nearby Le Rochelle, said specialist anti-terrorist judges had not been informed, and a criminal investigation for ‘attempted murder’ had been launched.
This led to angry protests by the RN, with party MP Sébastien Chenu saying in the National Assembly: "There is an urgent need to define what Islamism is. The suspect shouted Allahu Akbar when he was arrested."
A senior parliamentary aide working for France’s far-Right National Rally was in intensive care today following a mass casualty attack by a driver screaming ‘Allah Akbar’.
An investigating source said: "Two people remain in intensive care, including a National Rally worker who was worst hit."
She was identified solely by her first name of Emma – a senior aide to veteran National Rally (RN) MP Pascal Markowsky, 72.
Laure Lavalette, another RN MP said on X: "The horror on Oléron Island where an individual deliberately rammed several bicycles and pedestrians.
"To the loved ones of the victims, including Emma, a colleague of RN deputy Pascal Markowsky, who was urgently evacuated to intensive care, we send our deepest thoughts."
Yaël Braun-Pivet, President of the National Assembly, said: "I also wish to express my solidarity with Member of Parliament Pascal Markowsky and his parliamentary team, one of whose members was seriously injured. Justice must be served with all necessary clarity and resolve."
Those hurt ranged in age from 22 to 67 years old, and came from Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron and Dolus-d'Oléron.
Photographs have been released showing the burnt out car that was used in the attack. One investigator in a white suit can be seen approaching the vehicle, while another, wearing a face mask, takes notes.
Pictures from the scene show emergency service vehicles gathering. Another shows emergency service workers standing in a huddle next to one of the vehicles.
Police are said to have caught the driver setting fire to his car after the attack and said gas canisters were found inside.. The vehicle only partially caught fire, according to reports.
The arrested man is said to be from a village just four kilometres away from where the attack took place.
Dolus-d'Oléron Mayor Thibault Brechkoff shared a photograph of emergency services, which he said were "mobilised to manage the situation".
In a social media post, he wrote: "Multiple accidents occurred in Saint Pierre and Dolus." Brechkoff confirmed that a crisis base was being set up in Dolus and that the driver had been arrested.
Arnaud Laraize, the La Rochelle public prosecutor, said the suspect also had ‘psychiatric issues’ and consumed a lot of drugs and alcohol.
The unspoiled Ile d'Oléron is one of the most beautiful in France, and hugely popular with holidaymakers from the UK. It is the second largest island in France, after Corsica, and is 19 miles in length and 5 miles wide.
Criss-crossed by cycle paths, Oléron features pine forests, dunes and sandy beaches, as well as numerous fishing ports.
Laurent Nuñez, Minister of the Interior, shared a statement on social media, writing: "This morning, a driver struck several pedestrians and cyclists in Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron and Dolus-d'Oléron. Two victims are in critical condition and three others were injured."
He confirmed that the driver was apprehended by the police and an investigation is underway.
Nuñez stated: "At the Prime Minister's request, I am going to the scene."
Arnaud Laraize, a public prosecutor in nearby Le Rochelle, intially discounted terrorism. He said that the man was known for "drug and alcohol offences".
Laraize added that specialist anti-terrorist judges had not been informed, and a criminal investigation for "attempted murder" had been launched.
A source said the alarm was raised just after 8.45am and witnesses reported multiple casualties.
The source also said that the words "Allahu Akbar" were heard by "a number of witnesses". The driver, a local man in his 30s, was arrested at the scene.
The three most injured victims were airlifted to the University Hospital of Poitiers.
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