Mr Castaner made the controversial comments as he visited the office of Romain Grau, an MP loyal to French President Emmanuel Macron, after it was set alight by balaclava-clad rioters on the sidelines of a yellow vest rally last weekend. While the attack on Mr Grau’s office has widely been branded “an act of vandalism,” Mr Castaner reclassified the incident into an “attentat” – the French word used to describe a terrorist attack. Mr Grau, a member of Mr Macron’s centrist La République en Marche (LREM) party, was in his office in the southern city of Perpignan when a mob of yellow vests stormed into the room, smashing windows and hurling a burning projectile inside. The MP managed to put out the flames and escape.
The fact the protesters were “carrying a gas can and weapons” leaves us in no doubt they had “prepared the attack” against the constituency office, Mr Castaner told the French news channel LCI.
An act of violence that is “premeditated is by definition a terrorist attack,” Mr Castaner insisted.
He said: “These people entered the building with gas cans. They were well-equipped and also made an attempt on an MP’s life.”
“Their sole purpose is to destroy, they’re brutes.”
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But his comments drew sharp rebuke from opposition politicians, who accused him of blowing the situation out of proportion.
Sébastien Chenu, a spokesman for the far-right Rassemblement national (RN) party, told the rolling news channel BFMTV that Mr Castaner “has a problem with rhetoric” and the destruction of the LREM office was definitely “not an attack,” before stressing their actions should nevertheless be “condemned”.
Mr Chenu added the word “attentat” is one that should be used with caution because it “resonates strongly” with the French, who have been singled out by the jihadist group Islamic State (ISIS) as a key target, and witnessed multiple deadly attacks in recent years.
Communist MP Ian Brossat also lashed out at the security chief, denouncing in a Twitter post the “parallels drawn between a broken window and a terrorist attack”.
France’s Yellow Vest street revolt began in mid-November over planned fuel tax hikes and rising living costs, but rapidly swelled into a broader, sometimes violent movement against the Macron government, widely seen as aloof and indifferent to the struggles of the working class.
The weekly protests had all but ground to a halt, but picked up again last week after French lawmakers approved the ‘CETA’ EU-Canada trade deal, which opponents say undermines the bloc’s social and ecological regulations by importing products made under conditions that would not be allowed in Europe.
More than 10 LREM constituency offices have been attacked in a week, many by farmers angry over CETA, an accord championed by Mr Macron and his allies.
Earlier this week, 20 LREM lawmakers denounced the spate of attacks in an open letter published on the website of Franceinfo radio, complaining that their offices had been “walled in or smashed up”.
Many have since sought police protection, with Mr Castaner ordering stepped-up security around their homes and offices. Some have even received death threats.
Farmers fear the free-trade pact will lead to France being flooded with low-cost Canadian farm produce, bringing down prices and demand for domestic produce.
Anti-CETA protesters launched another attack on Thursday night, dumping manure outside the office of pro-Macron lawmaker Monique Iborra to voice their discontent.