Overview

• Two assailants dragged the municipal councillor from his vehicle in Laroque-d’Olmes around 2:30 p.m. Friday and struck him repeatedly before fleeing in the stolen car.
• An off-duty Ariège police officer witnessed the attack and intervened, prompting the attackers to escape in the victim’s vehicle.
• The councillor was taken to hospital for evaluation and his condition is not life-threatening, according to the Foix prosecutor’s office.
• Gendarmes have opened an investigation and are actively searching for the perpetrators while reviewing available evidence, including nearby surveillance footage.
• The mayor said the scene resembled a violent carjacking and noted it is the third reported assault on a local elected official in the commune in recent years.