The deputy mayor of Saint-Denis was attacked in the street after leaving a meeting, we learned this Thursday, December 21.
Oriane Filhol, the deputy to the socialist mayor Mathieu Hanotin, in charge of solidarity, access to rights and women’s rights, was violently attacked around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday evening by two individuals, as we learned Le Figaro from a police source this Thursday. The elected official had the impression of being followed as soon as she left the meeting as she headed home. The daily specifies that, not feeling safe, she tried to go to a friend’s house not far from where she was.
According to information from Le Figaro, Ms. Filhol was first swept away by her attackers while she was in a private driveway before being kicked and punched to the body and face. According to The Parisian, she was able to find refuge with an acquaintance whose home was a few streets away. The media also specifies that she filed a complaint immediately. The two attackers, wearing surgical masks, then fled in a black sedan driven by a third individual. The perpetrators were identified by the license plate of the vehicle in which they fled. The elected official then went to the city’s Delafontaine hospital, accompanied by a friend. The source of Le Figaro clarified that she was now out of it.
An investigation has been opened but the motive for the attack has not yet been clearly defined. The mayor of Saint-Denis declared in a press release that the investigation “must determine the exact motives for this attack, which seems to be closely linked to her commitment as an elected official”. A police source told Le Figaro that nothing was stolen from the elected official. Le Parisien indicates that the open investigation was entrusted to territorial security for “violence leading to an ITT (total incapacity for work) of more than eight days, in a meeting, by a person hiding their face, on a person charged with a mission of public service” as clarified by Eric Mathais, the public prosecutor of Bobigny.
This new aggression takes place in a context where attacks against elected officials have increased in recent years, with an increase of 32% in 2022 as indicated by Le Figaro which adds that the Ministry of the Interior plans an increase of 15% for 2023.