Local officials said a 35-year-old man deliberately drove into people between the towns of Saint Pierre d'Oléron and Dolus d'Oléron on Île d’Oléron on Wednesday, injuring 10 people.
Arnaud Laraize, the public prosecutor for the nearby city of La Rochelle, said the suspect had yelled "allahu akbar," or "God is greatest" in Arabic, as he was arrested, according to the newspaper Sud Ouest. French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez separately confirmed that the suspect was in custody and an investigation was underway. Nuñez said two people had been critically injured.
The phrase "allahu akbar" has been used by extremist militants in designated terror organizations. French media reported that counterterrorism specialists are monitoring the case but are not currently involved. Local lawmaker Olivier Falorni said the motive was not yet clear and the suspect had not appeared on the country's watchlist for radicalized individuals, according to Reuters.
A 22-year-old pedestrian and a 69-year-old cyclist are in critical condition and were airlifted to hospitals in La Rochelle and Poitiers, two cities on the mainland. Three other people were taken to hospital in a "stable condition," while another five sustained minor injuries and were treated at the scene by firefighters, French broadcaster BFMTV reported.
French media reports had indicated between two and four people were seriously injured. Dolus-d'Oléron mayor Thibault Brechkoff told local media those injured were aged between 22 and 69 years old and said separately at least nine people were injured.Joëlle Mélin, a French parliamentarian with the country's right wing National Rally party, said an aide to National Rally politician Pascal Markowsky was "seriously injured" in the incident. Mélin named the aide as Emma Vallain.
The suspect intended to hit "everyone he could encounter" before he "intentionally set fire to his vehicle," Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron Mayor Christophe Sueur told BFMTV. Sueur said the man was a local resident with a known history of drug and alcohol use.
"When we saw the vehicle—with the front completely torn off, clearly showing the intent to ram, as he did several times—I think he was fully aware of what he was doing," Sueur said.