Attackers in France tried to set fire to the home of a suburban Paris mayor’s home overnight and fired rockets at the official’s fleeing wife and children.
The incident has caused widespread shock and is being treated as attempted murder. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne described it as intolerable.
Mayor Vincent Jeanbrun was not at home, but his wife suffered a broken leg and a child was also hurt.
France has seen violent protests after police killed a teenager on Tuesday.
The suspects in the incident in L’Haÿ-les-Roses, south of Paris, have not been identified.
Mr Jeanbrun said he had been in his office overseeing the situation when the attack on his home occurred at 01:30 (23:30 GMT on Saturday).
The attackers used a car to ram through the gates of their home before setting the vehicle on fire so that the blaze would spread to the house, the mayor said in a statement.
Then when his wife, Melanie Nowak, tried to flee with the children, aged five and seven, they were attacked with firework rockets. Ms Nowak suffered a broken leg. One of the children was also injured.
Mayor Jeanbrun called it “a murder attempt of unspeakable cowardice”.
“A line has been crossed,” he said.
“If my priority today is to take care of my family, my determination to protect and serve the Republic is greater than before,” he added.
“The mayor, from the centre-right Les Republicains, has received widespread support from across the French political spectrum.
The public prosecutor’s office has started an investigation for attempted murder.
The attack on Mayor Jeanbrun’s home came during the fifth night of violent protests across France over the death of Nahel M, 17, who was shot by police at point-blank range during a traffic stop. (BBC)
