France election news: Government spokesperson attacked on the campaign trail

France's government spokesperson is attacked on the campaign trail, days before decisive election

French government spokesperson Prisca Thevenot leaves the weekly cabinet meeting, Wednesday, July 3, 2024 at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)

Paris, France -

In the final stretch before France's high-stakes parliamentary elections Sunday, several candidates have reported being attacked on the campaign trail, including government spokesperson Prisca Thevenot.

The French interior minister said Thursday that 30,000 police officers will be deployed on voting day, including 5,000 in the Paris region. Tensions are high as left-wing and moderate groups try to prevent the anti-immigration, nationalist National Rally from winning an absolute legislative majority, which would be a first and a major historical shift for France.

Download the CTV News App for breaking news alerts and video on all the top stories

Candidates have complained of both hate speech and physical violence in the brief and polarizing campaign for the snap elections.

Thevenot, a candidate for the centrist Ensemble alliance led by President Emmanuel Macron, said she and a deputy and a party activist were putting up election posters in Meudon near Paris on Wednesday night when a group attacked them. Thevenot’s deputy and the party activist were taken to a hospital.

’’The symbolic violence of words quickly was replaced by physical violence,″ she told reporters while back on the campaign trail Thursday. ‘’We are still a bit shocked ... I remain mobilized.''

She said the motive for the attack was being investigated. The prosecutor’s office said it opened an investigation into a gang assault with a weapon against a public official. Four people, including three minors, are in custody, prosecutors said.

Politicians on all sides condemned the attack and others on candidates from various parties.

Marie Dauchy, a National Rally candidate in Savoy, said she was assaulted Wednesday at a food market while campaigning and announced she was abandoning the race. Her party’s leader and three-time presidential candidate, Marine Le Pen, said on X that two men had “cowardly” assaulted Dauchy.

Nicolas Conquer, a candidate for The Republicans, said on social media that he was assaulted while distributing election flyers in the Atlantic coast city of Cherbourg on Tuesday. He was accompanied by a minor when the incident happened, and reported it to police, he said.

Read more of the latest international headlines

In the Alps, 77-year-old local official Bernard Dupre was beaten while hanging campaign posters for former Health Minister Olivier Veran, Veran said Thursday. French media broadcast images of Dupre's bloodied eye.

“Let’s reject the climate of violence and hatred that is taking hold,” Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said Thursday on X.

“This climate is deplorable,” Le Pen said in a TV interview.

A few hours before being targeted, Thevenot had shared her anxiety as a person of color in a “complicated” political situation with French broadcaster TF1. Her parents hail from the African island of Mauritius.

“I don’t say this only as spokesperson of the government, but more as the daughter of immigrants and mother of mixed-race children,” she said, citing repeated and intensified racist attacks. “They no longer do it anonymously, but with uncovered faces and even with a certain pride.”

Many people have voiced concerns that the surge in voter support for the fiercely anti-immigration National Rally has made people feel more comfortable using racist, xenophobic and antisemitic language in public.

A candidate who campaigned in the outskirts of Paris for Macron’s camp was assigned private security guards by her party after she said she was the target of antisemitic abuse.

Pamphlets targeting Black people appeared in mailboxes in the Paris suburb of Chatou, shocking residents. Activist group SOS Racisme filed a legal complaint for inciting hatred, and said that its offices around France have seen a rise in reports of racist comments and acts during the campaign.

The government agency tallying racist acts did not have recent data since the brief campaign began.

French newspaper Le Canard Enchaine reported that Fadila Khattabi, the minister for people with disabilities and the daughter of Algerian immigrants, was in tears when she shared a personal story at a ministerial meeting at the Elysée Palace on Monday. “Considering my origins, I am scared of racist speech,” she said, according to the newspaper. “My son, a symbol of republican success, a child of immigration who became a pharmacist, now wants to leave France, out of fear of a National Rally victory.”

A group called the Antifascist Action Paris-Suburbs called for a protest outside the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, on Sunday night as results come in to stand up against the far right. Le Pen denounced the call.

Macron called a surprise legislative election on June 9 after his centrist alliance suffered a punishing defeat at the hands of the National Rally in French voting for the European Parliament, plunging the country into a chaotic, sudden legislative campaign.

Angela Charlton in Paris contributed.

CTVNews.ca �ǿմ�ý

Greg Fertuck will spend life behind bars with no chance of parole until he is 90 years old, a judge ruled on Thursday at Saskatoon's Court of King's Bench.

All LCBO stores are closed on Friday as thousands of workers hit the picket lines after their union and employer failed to reach an agreement.

Britain's Labour on track for landslide victory, exit poll suggests, amid anger with Conservatives

Britain's Labour Party headed for a landslide victory Friday in a parliamentary election, an exit poll suggested, as voters punished the governing Conservatives after 14 years of economic and political upheaval.

Saskatchewan has the lowest hourly minimum wage. How does it stack up to the rest of Canada?

Hourly minimum wages increased in several Canadian provinces this spring with more on the horizon, which economists say will likely impact workers and businesses differently.

Trying to sell or buy a home this summer? What a realtor says you should know

In the first few weeks of summer, the real estate sector is experiencing an upturn marked by more housing inventory, a Canadian realtor says

As receipts tick ever higher for Canadians at the grocery store and shoppers continue to search for savings, one Canadian grocer has ended a perceived deal.

Hurricane Beryl churns toward Mexico after leaving destruction in Jamaica and eastern Caribbean

After leaving a trail of destruction across the eastern Caribbean and at least nine people dead, Hurricane Beryl weakened as it chugged over open water toward Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on Thursday, going from the earliest Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic to Category 2 by the afternoon.

CSIS director David Vigneault stepping down after seven years on the job

David Vigneault says he is stepping down from his job at the head of Canada’s spy agency. The director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, who spent seven years at the helm, is leaving the public service altogether.

Biden tells Democratic governors he needs more sleep and plans to stop scheduling events after 8 p.m.

U.S. President Joe Biden told Democratic governors during a meeting at the White House on Wednesday that part of his plan going forward is to stop scheduling events after 8 p.m. so that he can get more sleep, according to three sources briefed on his comments.

Canada

An 85-year-old driver who seemingly attempted to run down three teens in a shocking caught-on-camera incident in Abbotsford, B.C., could be charged with assault with a weapon, according to authorities.
Disappointment lingers over the property of a Riverside couple that was told to remove landscaping from their front lawn after a resident complained that it doesn’t conform to the city’s public right-of-way encroachment bylaws.
A wrestling fan from Guelph, Ont. thought he was down for the count after winning tickets to a “once-in-a-lifetime” WWE event in Toronto.
In the wake of the legal challenge to Bill 21 on the secular nature of the State, Quebec Attorney General Simon Jolin-Barrette has asked Supreme Court Justice Mahmud Jamal to recuse himself, fearing that he "does not have the impartiality required to hear this case."
A Toronto woman who had been searching for her biological parents since she was a child finally has the answers she longed for at the age of 77.
Saskatchewan has the lowest hourly minimum wage. How does it stack up to the rest of Canada?

Hourly minimum wages increased in several Canadian provinces this spring with more on the horizon, which economists say will likely impact workers and businesses differently.

World

Biden tells Democratic governors he needs more sleep and plans to stop scheduling events after 8 p.m.

U.S. President Joe Biden told Democratic governors during a meeting at the White House on Wednesday that part of his plan going forward is to stop scheduling events after 8 p.m. so that he can get more sleep, according to three sources briefed on his comments.
Britain's Labour on track for landslide victory, exit poll suggests, amid anger with Conservatives

Britain's Labour Party headed for a landslide victory Friday in a parliamentary election, an exit poll suggested, as voters punished the governing Conservatives after 14 years of economic and political upheaval.
White House now says Biden was seen by his doctor days after debate

U.S. President Joe Biden was examined by his physician in the days following last week’s CNN presidential debate, the White House tells CNN — despite the White House press secretary having said Wednesday that the president has had no medical exams since his February physical.
Parisian cafes are a cherished part of French culture. Here's why they might be in trouble

Across France and especially in Paris, hospitality is one of the industries that is most heavily reliant on immigrant workers.
Peru's Congress approves statute of limitations for crimes against humanity committed before 2002

Peru's Congress on Thursday passed a law establishing a statute of limitations for crimes against humanity committed before 2002, a decision that human rights organizations have warned could encourage impunity and thwart investigations into serious abuses.
Vatican chief of staff testifies in U.K finance trial, points finger at deputy who escaped unscathed

Pope Francis' chief of staff became one of the highest-ranking Holy See officials to testify in a foreign court Thursday, telling a British tribunal about the negotiations at the heart of the Vatican's so-called 'trial of the century,' admitting he filed a false invoice and pointing a finger at his one-time deputy who escaped the scandal unscathed.

Politics

CSIS director David Vigneault stepping down after seven years on the job

David Vigneault says he is stepping down from his job at the head of Canada’s spy agency. The director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, who spent seven years at the helm, is leaving the public service altogether.
Canada to host the 70th annual NATO session in Montreal

Canada will host the 70th annual session of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Parliamentary Assembly from Nov. 22 to 25 in Montreal, Que.
Conservatives paid $8.5M on advertising in 2023, trouncing Liberals, NDP

The well-funded Conservative Party of Canada spent more than $8.5 million on advertising last year, substantially exceeding what its political rivals dropped to get their message out.

Health

A brand of instant noodles sold in B.C., Alberta and Ontario has been recalled due to undeclared peanut in the ingredients – posing a potential allergy risk to consumers.
Kris Jenner learns her ovaries will need to be removed because of tumour on 'The Kardashians'

In the episode, streaming now, the matriarch of one of the world’s most famous families learns she will undergo surgery for a tumour on her ovary.
Popular weight loss and diabetes drugs linked to increased risk of rare form of blindness

People who take Ozempic or Wegovy may have a higher risk of developing a rare form of blindness, a new study suggests. Still, doctors say it shouldn’t deter patients from using the medicines to treat diabetes or obesity.

Sci-Tech

High-speed hippos can get airborne, says new study

Hippos can get airborne when moving at high speeds over land, according to a new study.
60 million-year-old seeds reveal that dinosaur extinction paved the way for grapes

Grapes have been intertwined with the story of humanity for millennia, providing the basis for wines produced by our ancestors thousands of years ago — but that may not have been the case if dinosaurs hadn’t disappeared from the planet, according to new research.
Marine mammal rescuers in British Columbia are searching for an entangled humpback whale in the waters off northern Vancouver Island.

Entertainment

Grammy award-winning musician Jennifer Gasoi said being locked out of her Facebook page, thanks to a phishing scam, is affecting her ability to do her work and connect with her fans.
Director accused in French cinema's #MeToo wave charged with rape and assault of actors

A prominent French film director has been handed preliminary charges of rape, sexual assault and violence by a French judge investigating a case involving female actors, the Paris prosecutor's office said Thursday.
Judge clears way for Alec Baldwin to go to trial next week after last-minute efforts to toss 'Rust' case fail

A New Mexico judge has cleared the way for the prosecution of Alec Baldwin next week, refusing the latest in a series of attempts by the actor and his legal team to have his criminal case connected to the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the 2021 set of the film 'Rust' dismissed.

Business

Trying to sell or buy a home this summer? What a realtor says you should know

In the first few weeks of summer, the real estate sector is experiencing an upturn marked by more housing inventory, a Canadian realtor says
'Marriage of convenience': Hudson's Bay Co. buying Neiman Marcus for US$2.65B

Several North American department stores are joining forces under a deal that will see Hudson's Bay Co. buy Neiman Marcus and spin it out into a larger business along with some of its other prestige retailers.
'A way to leapfrog': Amazon executive says regulated industries moving fastest on AI

As a wave of companies rush to embed artificial intelligence into their operations, Matt Wood has noticed the technology's fastest adopters are businesses more typically described as slow to change.

Lifestyle

A Toronto woman who had been searching for her biological parents since she was a child finally has the answers she longed for at the age of 77.
The son of Asia's richest man is getting married in one of India's most anticipated -- and lavish -- weddings of the year

Billionaire heir Anant Ambani is set to marry his longtime girlfriend Radhika Merchant later this month, in a lavish ceremony widely described as the country's wedding of the year.
Parisian cafes are a cherished part of French culture. Here's why they might be in trouble

Across France and especially in Paris, hospitality is one of the industries that is most heavily reliant on immigrant workers.

Sports

Bertoletti, Sudo win top dog honors at Nathan's Famous power-eating contest, absent longtime champ

Patrick Bertoletti gobbled up 58 hot dogs to win his first men's title Thursday at the annual Nathan's Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest, taking advantage of the absence of the event's biggest star.
Ryan Garcia expelled by WBC after using racial slurs in livestream

Ryan Garcia was expelled by the World Boxing Council on Thursday after he repeatedly used racial slurs against Black people and disparaged Muslims in comments livestreamed on social media.
Novak Djokovic grinds out a victory over wild card Jacob Fearnley at Wimbledon

Novak Djokovic says he wouldn't have been surprised if his second-round match against young Jacob Fearnley at Wimbledon went to a fifth set, but he's 'very glad it didn't.'

Autos

CDK Global says 'substantially all' dealers are back online after a crippling hack

CDK Global said 'substantially all' of the nearly 15,000 car dealerships that use its software across North America are back online to its core management system, almost two weeks since a cyber incident caused a software blackout.
Faulty brakes, airbag systems: Here are the cars recalled in Canada

Transport Canada recalled various vehicles over the last week, including Kia, Toyota, Volkswagen and Porsche cars.
It used to be cash was king and that you could get a better deal if you paid for a car in full, but now many dealers want you to finance your purchase so they can make more money.

Local Spotlight

A wrestling fan from Guelph, Ont. thought he was down for the count after winning tickets to a “once-in-a-lifetime” WWE event in Toronto.

Lacey may look like just another pet chicken on Emily Carrington’s B.C. property. But she has a title her coop mates don’t: Guinness World Record holder.

Philip Kim, who competes as "B-Boy Phil Wizard," is set to make Canadian sports history this summer as the country's first-ever Olympic breaking athlete.

A new documentary filmed in Nova Scotia by marine biologist and veterinarian Dr. Chris Harvey Clark explores the increased number of white shark observations in Canadian waters.

A never-before-lived-in mansion in Whistler is on the market for $17.9 million – with the listing describing it as a 'steal for the international buyer' due to the current exchange rate, which puts the price in U.S. dollars at $13.1 million.

Irish singer Niall Horan had to ditch his car and walk to Scotiabank Arena where his concert was being held last weekend because the traffic was 'too bad' downtown.

A rave at the Ontario Science Centre was the place where Greg LeBlanc says his relationship first began with his husband Mark in 1997.

Travellers watch as WestJet cancels flights with no end to mechanics strike in sight

Travellers flying with WestJet continue to watch as the airline cancels more flights due to a sudden strike by its mechanics union.

An unknown Newfoundland soldier killed in the First World War is being laid to rest

The remains of a soldier from Newfoundland killed in the battlefields of France during the First World War will be laid to rest in St. John's Monday, bringing an emotional end to a years-long effort in a place still shaken and forever changed by the bloodshed.

A father living in an RV in B.C.’s Fraser Valley with his toddler for more than a year has become even more desperate to find housing after facing a tragic loss.
Cleanup is underway in Abbotsford after spilled firefighting foam ended up in a local creek Wednesday night.
Vancouver’s magnificent mountain vistas will be front and centre at city hall next week, when councillors will debate whether to ease view protection rules to make room for more construction.

All LCBO stores are closed on Friday as thousands of workers hit the picket lines after their union and employer failed to reach an agreement.
All LCBO stores across the province are closed for two weeks starting Friday as workers go on strike for the first time after their union and employer failed to reach an agreement.
Two Toronto city councillors are asking staff to develop a rats reduction strategy by the latter half of next year to deal with infestations, but some say the problem needs immediate action.

Stampede Park opened for a sneak-a-peek Thursday night and launched festivities for the 10-day event, which is expected to bring an economic boost.
Simon Nash spent days scrambling to clean and collect extra children's play equipment after thieves got away with a custom-made portable playground.
A Calgary taekwondo instructor is facing child pornography charges.

All LCBO stores are closed on Friday as thousands of workers hit the picket lines after their union and employer failed to reach an agreement.
Veteran broadcaster Patricia Boal has been named anchor of CTV News at Six, CTV News Ottawa announced Thursday.
NEW THIS MORNING
NEW THIS MORNING

CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at things to do in Ottawa during the first weekend of July.

The Montreal fire service said its inspectors were refused access to do a safety check at the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University on Thursday.
Montreal police are investigating after a man was attacked with a blunt object in an alley near the Mont-Royal metro station in the Plateau.
In the wake of the legal challenge to Bill 21 on the secular nature of the State, Quebec Attorney General Simon Jolin-Barrette has asked Supreme Court Justice Mahmud Jamal to recuse himself, fearing that he "does not have the impartiality required to hear this case."

Two insurance providers in Alberta have announced plans to stop offering automobile insurance to customers in the province.
An Edmonton woman says she's losing hope as her husband has been left waiting for months to see an oncologist after being diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer this spring.
Edmonton police are releasing photos of a vehicle whose occupants they believe may have seen activity related to a recent homicide in the Mill Creek Ravine.

A suspected shark sighting caused a popular Nova Scotia beach to close temporarily Thursday.
A shelter in place order issued in Fredericton Thursday has been lifted.
The RCMP has arrested a 36-year-old Wentworth, N.S., man wanted on two provincewide arrest warrants.

Manitoba Hydro may needs billions of dollars worth of upgrades for aging infrastructure.
The search continues for two missing fishers who never returned home from a hunting trip.
A West St. Paul home is a total loss after it went up in flames Thursday.

The Government of Saskatchewan has filed an injunction in light of the federal government sending the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) after the province’s bank account, Premier Scott Moe said on Thursday.
Because of heavy rain and cooler conditions in parts of the province, crop development is falling behind normal for this time of year.
A water treatment plant nearly a decade in the making is now up and running on the Star Blanket Cree Nation.

A wrestling fan from Guelph, Ont. thought he was down for the count after winning tickets to a “once-in-a-lifetime” WWE event in Toronto.
All LCBO stores are closed on Friday as thousands of workers hit the picket lines after their union and employer failed to reach an agreement.
A Good Samaritan is stepping up to help a senior after his Cambridge apartment flooded, destroying most of his belongings.

Greg Fertuck will spend life behind bars with no chance of parole until he is 90 years old, a judge ruled on Thursday at Saskatoon's Court of King's Bench.
A Saskatoon man is recovering in hospital after falling three storeys off the roof of a downtown building on Canada Day.
A leaked document reveals a Saskatoon city councillor's involvement at a private Christian school embroiled in abuse allegations.

The driver of a commercial motor vehicle has been charged after police noticed something dangling underneath the vehicle.
One suspect from Sudbury and two from southern Ontario have been charged after a group of masked people broke into a home on Colonial Court early Wednesday morning.
All LCBO stores are closed on Friday as thousands of workers hit the picket lines after their union and employer failed to reach an agreement.

All LCBO stores are closed on Friday as thousands of workers hit the picket lines after their union and employer failed to reach an agreement.
On Thursday, over a hundred Londoners attended a ‘bridge party’ to celebrate completion of the new span over the Thames River connecting the Old South neighbourhood to the downtown.
A tight-knit Huron County community remains in disbelief after learning a 13-year-old local boy has been charged with first-degree murder. The age of the accused, confirmed by the court, has sent shockwaves through the village of Holmesville.

The Town of Bracebridge is second-guessing its $10 million funding commitment to Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC) after its board voted to proceed with its controversial two-hospital redevelopment proposal.
One person is in the hospital following a tractor-trailer rollover on a ramp to Highway 400 late Thursday afternoon.
Police say the death of a man found in a grassy area near a Highway 400 ramp in Barrie late last month is not considered suspicious.

All LCBO stores are closed on Friday as thousands of workers hit the picket lines after their union and employer failed to reach an agreement.
Disappointment lingers over the property of a Riverside couple that was told to remove landscaping from their front lawn after a resident complained that it doesn’t conform to the city’s public right-of-way encroachment bylaws.
The Chatham-Kent Barnstormers have been swinging for the fences in their debut season – and the community appears to be behind them.

A Greater Victoria man has been arrested and released from custody after police seized several guns, thousands of rounds of ammunition and four and a half kilograms of cocaine from a home in Langford, B.C., last week.
It may not be on most people's minds, but COVID-19 is on the rise again in B.C.
A British Columbia seismologist says there's nothing dangerous or unusual about a recent flurry of earthquake activity off the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Mounties are urging the public to be vigilant following a suspected gang shooting in B.C.'s southern Interior that left a 40-year-old man injured this week.
British Columbia residents are being told to brace for a coming heat wave that could send temperatures into the high 30s and beyond, with the government reminding people to check in on their neighbours.
A swath of B.C.’s southern Interior is being told to brace for potential severe thunderstorms Tuesday.

Nearly 2,000 athletes will compete in 20 events over four days during the 2024 Southern Alberta Sumer Games. After months of planning, organizers are thrilled to welcome families from all over southern Alberta to Coaldale, Alta.
One of two men accused of conspiring to kill Mounties at the border blockade at Coutts, Alta., characterized the protest as a last stand and told his mother there “will be a war” if police moved in.
With the recent moisture and cooler temperatures, fire bans and restrictions in the Lethbridge area are no longer in effect.

A federal appeals hearing ended Thursday involving three homeowners from Elliot Lake, Ont., seeking to have radioactive rock removed from their homes.
The Sault Ste. Marie Police Service recently welcomed three new constables to its “police family.”
Sault Ste. Marie native and four-time Stanley Cup champion Marty Pavelich has died.

N.L.

Newfoundland and Labrador premier takes aim at Ottawa over reopened cod fishery

Newfoundland and Labrador's Liberal premier is once again opposing a decision made by the federal Liberals — this time about the reopening of the province's commercial northern cod fishery.
Evacuation order lifted in central Labrador after wildfires forced them to flee

There was relief in central Labrador Wednesday night as officials lifted a wildfire evacuation order, allowing people to return to their homes in Churchill Falls two weeks after they were asked to flee.
Newfoundland and Labrador fishers say commercial cod fishery should not reopen

The union representing inshore fish harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador is calling on the federal government to reverse its recent decision to reopen the commercial Northern cod fishery.

France's government spokesperson is attacked on the campaign trail, days before decisive election

CTVNews.ca �ǿմ�ý

NEW THIS MORNING |

NEW THIS MORNING