Stabbed mayor out of danger

THE mayor of Châteaurenard, Bernard Reynès, is recovering in hospital after being stabbed three times during a Remembrance Day service.

The attack took place during in front of the Bouches-du-Rhône town cemetery, as a procession of around 100 people arrived to pay their respects at the town’s war memorial.

A local councillor, Louis Bochet, spotted the assailant entering the crowd carrying a knife and was himself injured as he attempted to stop him.

A second council worker, Françoise Cestier, was stabbed in the hip as she went to intervene.

A 31-year-old man has been arrested and charged with attempted murder. A report has been ordered into his mental health.

President François Hollande has described the attack as “profoundly odious”, while the head of the UMP party, to which Mr Reynès belongs, Jean-François Copé, said it was “scandalous”. They both wished the victims swift recoveries.