Gunman Firing at French President Chirac

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, July 15, 2002

Gunman Firing at French President Chirac

A man who fired a gun near French President Jacques Chirac during a Bastille Day march in Paris on Sunday was arrested by police. Chirac was unhurt in an open car when the man fired at him.

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French President Jacques Chirac survived an assassination attempt on Sunday by a man described as an emotionally disturbed neo-Nazi who pulled a rifle from a brown guitar case and fired one shot before he was wrestled to the ground.

The man fired as Chirac, riding in an open-top jeep just yards away, was reviewing troops at the start of a pomp-filled military parade to celebrate Bastille Day, France's national holiday.

Cries of alarm from members of the crowd along the tree-lined edge of Paris' Champs-Elysees apparently alerted police, who wrestled him to the ground. There were no reported injuries. A government official said the gunman tried to shoot himself after the incident.

Paris police said in a statement that the man was 25 years old and a member of "neo-Nazi and hooligan" groups. An officer close to the investigation, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the gunman was linked to a far-right student group, the Groupe Union Defense, and has a history of psychiatric problems. Police later transferred the man to a psychiatric facility, French television and radio networks said.

'Police! Police!'

"I saw a guy with a gun," said a witness, Mohamed Chelali, who told LCI television that he and other members of the crowd helped subdue the man. "I threw myself forward, grabbed the gun and then everyone started calling: 'Police! police!"' Chelali said. His account was not immediately confirmed by officials.

The would-be assailant was between 130 and 160 feet from the president.

"It was an assassination attempt," said Patrick Devedjian, a government minister. "He fired a first shot ... then he was overcome and tried to turn the weapon against himself."

"He admitted he wanted to kill the president," added Devedjian, the minister in charge of local liberties, under the Interior Minister.

Bernadette Chirac, the president's wife, also said "yes, clearly," when asked by reporters if the gunman was trying to kill her husband.

Paris police said the gun was a .22-caliber rifle. Officers in civilian clothes put both items in the van that took the man away. Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said the man bought the rifle last week.

The man's motives for attacking Chirac were not immediately known. Chirac crushed his far-right opponent, National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, in the second round of France's presidential election in May, winning 82 percent of the vote and a second term. Devedjian said the gunman was from "the extreme, extreme right, even further right than the National Front."

Le Pen Condemns 'Madman'

National Front leader Le Pen denied any connection to the gunman and condemned "all assassination attempts aimed at the representative of the state."

"I was sure that if a madman one day fired at the president, then it would be said in one way or another that he was from the extreme right," Le Pen said.

The attempt on Chirac comes as several European countries are facing a resurgence in support for far-right groups. Such movements have won votes by playing on fears of immigration, crime and economic stagnation. In Holland, anti-immigration politician Pim Fortuyn was assassinated May 6. Police arrested an environmental and animal rights activist in the killing.

France was shocked by Le Pen's strong showing in the first round of the presidential elections, when he knocked former Prime Minister Lionel Jospin out of the race.

Despite the attack, the Bastille Day parade, a colorful pageant with troops, armored vehicles and aircraft roaring overhead, continued uninterrupted.

The man was arrested at the top of the Champs-Elysees where it empties into Place Charles de Gaulle, site of the famous Arch of Triumph. He managed to reach the flag-bedecked Champs-Elysees despite heavy security. Police lined the avenue and mingled with crowds along the route.

No Comment from Chirac

In a traditional televised interview after the parade, Chirac was not asked about and did not mention the assassination attempt.

Later, he hosted a Bastille Day garden party for thousands of invited guests on the palace grounds. He made no reference to the assassination attempt in a brief appearance. After saluting the bravery of New York firefighters, who were invited guests, he dove into the crowd with a smile to shake hands.

In his interview, Chirac called for reform of France's asylum laws, faster processing of asylum requests, more effective measures against smugglers of illegal immigrants and a stronger French military.

Chirac's electoral triumph was followed in June by legislative elections won by his conservative allies, ending five years of Socialist government that had restricted the president power to act.

"I want to act now with determination and, I would say, with enthusiasm," Chirac said in the interview from his presidential Elysee Palace. He said he hoped "to give fresh impetus to France."

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