France: Nazi extremist's gun attack on Chirac
01 May 2002
A 25-year old local election candidate for Bruno Megret's Mouvement Républicain National (MNR) was arrested in mid-July after attempting to shoot president Jaques Chirac at the annual Bastille Day parade. Maxime Brunerie fired a single shot at the president before attempting to turn his gun on himself as he was overpowered by bystanders. Brunerie was immediately disowned by the MNR who claimed that their party, a split from Jean-Marie Le Pen's Front National, "always rejected all forms of extremism." In addition to his MNR membership, the would-be assassin also had links to the French and European Nationalist Party (PNFE), a violent overtly fascist organisation actively involved in racist attacks as well as the Groupement Union Défense (GUD), an ultra-right student movement. He was also a member of the Kop de Boulogne, Paris Saint-Germain's racist football "firm". According to press reports, Brunerie, who had never been in trouble with the police, had been known to police since 1997, when he began attending right-wing rallies. He is now being held at a police infirmary in Paris where he is undergoing psychiatric tests, but is expected to stand trial. Police also want to question Brunerie's best friend.
Guardian 16.7.02.