LONDON and PARIS – A driver was arrested after allegedly hitting and injuring pedestrians and cyclists at several locations on an island in southwestern France, the interior minister said.
“An investigation has been opened,” Minister Laurent Núñez said in French on social media. “At the request of the prime minister, I am heading to the location.”
The suspect, who has not been publicly identified, is said to have intentionally entered the bike lanes to run over some of the cyclists, said Christophe Sueur, mayor of Saint-Pierre d’Oléron.
French gendarmes work near the burnt car used by a driver who plowed into pedestrians and cyclists in Saint-Pierre-d’Oleron, on the French tourist island of Ile d’Oleron, off the Atlantic coast, France, on November 5, 2025.
Stephane Mahé/Reuters
“He intended to deliberately hit all the people he could cross with his car,” Sueur said in an interview broadcast on the French channel BFMTV.
The attacks appeared to have occurred along a “route” through Saint Pierre and Dolus, two towns about 4 miles apart on the island of Oleron, Núñez said. The island, located off the Atlantic coast, is a popular vacation destination.
The suspect reportedly attempted to set the vehicle on fire when it stopped. French media and international news services have published videos and photographs of investigators working around a burning vehicle, some of which included what appeared to be a container commonly used for propane or gas.
French gendarmes work near the burnt car used by a driver who plowed into pedestrians and cyclists in Saint-Pierre-d’Oleron, on the French tourist island of Ile d’Oleron, off the Atlantic coast, France, on November 5, 2025.
Stephane Mahé/Reuters
Two of those hit by the vehicle were in serious condition and at least three others were injured, Núñez said.
Sueur, in the broadcast interview, said the injured were between 22 and 69 years old. Some were taken to local hospitals by helicopter, he said.
Authorities did not immediately release details about the driver or a possible motive. Police knew the suspect, according to BFMTV.
France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor is following developments but is not formally involved for now, according to local media.
