Motorist rams into pedestrians and cyclists in France, injuring nine people

A motorist has rammed into pedestrians and cyclists on a French island off the Atlantic coast, French officials have confirmed.

French media say the incidents took place along roadside areas in Île d’Oléron at around 9am local time on Wednesday.

The suspect injured nine people, two of them critically, before being detained by paramilitary police officers, said Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez.

Media reports identified the suspect as a 35-year-old French national living in La Cotinière, a small fishing village on the west coast of Île d’Oléron.

Minister Nuñez said an investigation has been opened and added he was personally heading to the scene.

Thibault Brechkoff, the mayor of the commune of Dolus-d’Oléron on the island, said in a social media post that the deliberate collisions occurred in two towns across the island.

In an interview on BFM-TV, Brechkoff said he was “extremely shocked”.

“All municipal services are fully mobilised. Two helicopters are on site, transporting the gravely injured to Poitiers,” he added.