Saint-Brieuc Mayor Attacked with a Knife, Man Arrested

The elected official was struck several times with the handle of a knife and was taken to hospital, but is out of danger.

He wanted “kill the mayor”testifies Hervé Guihard, mayor of Saint-Brieuc, in the Côtes-d’Armor, on France Bleu Armorique. The elected official received several blows with the handle of a knife on Thursday September 26 in the morning, around 9am, at the Bistrot de la Poste, rue Saint-Gouéno, in the city center, specifies France Bleu Armorique, confirming information from Le Télégramme. A man was arrested.

The suspect is a “regular” at the bistro. He is accused of having struck Hervé Guihard several times, including once in the head, with the handle of the serrated knife he was holding upside down. It took the intervention of six police officers and the use of a taser to subdue the suspect. He is a man “big and strong”according to witnesses met by France Bleu Armorique.

The mayor was seen with blood on his face before being taken to the emergency room. The elected official was still hospitalized at midday, he claims to have been targeted in his capacity as mayor of the city. A few minutes before committing the act, the man had in fact presented himself in front of the Saint-Brieuc town hall.

According to France Bleu Armorique, he is being monitored for psychological problems. He is also suspected of having previously verbally and publicly attacked the mayor. This was on May 30, during the passage of candidate Raphaël Glucksmann during the European election campaign.

Raphaël Glucksmann has also shown his support for Hervé Guihard, “a great man, an extraordinary mayor, my friend”in a publication on X. The European deputy mentions “an attacker who had been threatening him for months”. “Violence against our mayors/elected officials must stop or democracy will not survive the ongoing brutalization”adds Raphaël Glucksmann.

The Public Square Policy Council also provides information on X “his full and complete support for our mayor of Saint Brieuc Hervé Guihard. Violence against elected officials, sentinels of our democracy, is unacceptable.”

“Attacking a mayor is attacking the Republic”reacts on X Catherine Vautrin, Minister of Partnership with the Territories and Decentralization. She “condemns in the strongest terms the attack on the Mayor of Saint-Brieuc in the exercise of his duties this morning”The minister indicates that the mayor is “out of danger”. “The attacker was apprehended by the police and must be punished in proportion to his despicable act.”she concluded.

The public prosecutor of Saint-Brieuc is due to speak on Thursday afternoon.