On a horrific Wednesday morning on Île d’Oléron: at around 9.30 a.m., a motorist deliberately drove into pedestrians and cyclists between Dolus-d’Oléron and Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron, injuring ten people, two of them seriously. The driver, a Frenchman unknown to the secret services, was arrested shortly after the incident when he attempted to set his vehicle on fire.
According to Le Parisien, witnesses said he shouted ‘Allah Akbar’ from behind the wheel before driving into the victims. Investigators are not ruling out a psychiatric motive, but are examining every element of a terrorist nature. The scenes followed one after the other: a pedestrian was run over near the Intermarché de Dolus, then two cyclists were run over in Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron, on Rue de la Cure and Rue des Godillons, before another collision occurred on Route d’Arceau.
The man was arrested without resistance and taken into custody. Residents on the island are in shock and fear that a ‘simple walk’ could now turn into a tragedy. One of them confides: ‘We no longer feel safe anywhere.’ Many lament a feeling of abandonment as the peaceful island of Charente-Maritime is suddenly confronted with a terrifying incident.