“Allahu Akbar!” - in France, a terrorist drove several kilometers into pedestrians and cyclists 0 7

On the island of Île-d'Oléron located in the Atlantic Ocean near the city of La Rochelle, a 35-year-old driver deliberately ran over several pedestrians and cyclists, reported the LCI television channel on Wednesday, November 5. Ten people were injured, four of whom sustained serious injuries. "The suspect apparently tried to set his car on fire, which contained gas cylinders," the channel stated on social media X.

The violator, who shouted "Allahu Akbar!" (“God is great”) during his arrest, is suspected of attempted murder, the local prosecutor's office reported. This man, who lives on the island, was already known to the police for other crimes, according to the AFP agency. According to the investigation, he ran over people with his car for several kilometers. French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez announced on social media X that he went to the scene at the request of the country's Prime Minister.

Vehicle Attacks on People in France

In recent years, several serious cases of vehicle attacks on people have occurred in France, some of which had a terrorist or extremist nature. The most tragic of these was the attack in Nice on July 14, 2016, when a truck drove into a crowd gathered on the Promenade des Anglais to celebrate Bastille Day. At that time, 87 people died and more than 450 were injured. The attack was recognized as a terrorist act inspired by radical Islamist ideas and remains one of the bloodiest in modern French history. In Dijon in 2014, a driver intentionally ran over pedestrians while shouting religious slogans, resulting in 13 injuries.

In the 2000s and early 2010s, similar incidents were more often related to mental disorders, domestic conflicts, or random aggression. For example, in Paris in 2006, a driver sped into pedestrians, later claiming that he "heard voices"; in Nantes in 2014, a man drove a van into a Christmas market and attempted suicide, while similar episodes occurred in Grenoble and Montpellier without political undertones. These tragedies caused public outcry but were perceived as isolated incidents rather than manifestations of a systemic threat.