PARIS (AP) — French politicians came together in condemnation after a former minister was attacked Thursday and collapsed while campaigning ahead of legislative elections this weekend.
Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet’s campaign team said the former environment minister under ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy was taken for medical checks and was being kept overnight for monitoring at a Paris hospital following the attack in a Paris market.
French media quoted witnesses as saying that a man insulted her and pushed campaign leaflets into her face. Photos broadcast on French television showed her laid out on the pavement, eyes closed. Her team said it filed a legal complaint.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe? was among those who condemned the aggression, saying he has “nothing but contempt” for men who are violent with women.
Known in France by her initials “NKM,” Kosciusko-Morizet is a candidate in Paris for the conservative Republicans party.
Bystanders give assistance after Les Republicains (LR) party candidate Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet collapsed following an altercation with a man (R) while campaigning in the 5th arrondissement in Paris on June 15, 2017, ahead of the second round of the French legislative election. (GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/AFP/Getty)