Several injured after man ‘deliberately’ drives car into people on French island | France

A driver hit pedestrians and cyclists on Île d’Oléron, a tourist hotspot on France’s Atlantic coast, on Wednesday, injuring several people, four seriously, authorities said.

The 35-year-old driver was arrested by the police and an investigation was launched, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said in a post on X.

Prosecutor Arnaud Laraize said the man, a resident of the island, “intentionally hit several pedestrians and cyclists” along the main road.

Thibault Brechkoff, mayor of Dolus-d’Oléron, told BFM TV that approximately nine people were injured in total, while Laraize announced the total number of injured as 10. According to local media reports, France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office is not responsible for the investigation. The prosecutor’s office could not immediately be reached for comment.

Reuters and Agence-France Presse contributed to this report.