The mayor of a small village in Gironde was attacked and beaten on Tuesday evening by an individual in his town of Saint-Philippe d'Aiguille, after protesting against the nightly noise, AFP learned from the prefecture on Wednesday. Philippe Becheau, mayor of this town of some 400 inhabitants east of Libourne, was alerted around 10:30 p.m. by neighbors complaining of the noise in the village square, of a group of people listening to loud music.
The group fled after the assault
Philippe Becheau, after declining his position as mayor, asked the group to lower the volume, which they did. But as he was leaving, a man, "a priori heavily alcoholic", struck blows against the chief magistrate. The group then fled. Philippe Becheau, who was examined by a doctor, was at the gendarmes on Wednesday morning to lodge a complaint.
The Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin, on Twitter, condemned "with the greatest firmness this violence against an elected representative of the Republic. To attack a mayor is to attack the Republic", he said. in his tweet. The prefect of Gironde and New Aquitaine, Fabienne Buccio, also condemned the aggression and addressed her "full republican and personal support to the mayor".