Updated | 2:35 p.m. A man grabbed French President Nicolas Sarkozy and yanked him nearly to the ground on Thursday during an appearance in southwestern France.
As Mr. Sarkozy moved down a barricade greeting a small crowd in the town of Brax, about 70 miles from Toulouse, a hand reached out and grabbed Mr. Sarkozy hard by the lapel of his dark suit, throwing him against a metal barrier.
The man, identified by the French daily Le Monde as a 32-year-old from the surrounding region of Lot-et-Garonne, was quickly tackled to the ground by French security. He is currently being held by police and his name was not given.
While Mr. Sarkozy’s predecessor, Jacques Chirac, was shot at during a parade in 2002 — by an assailant who concealed a .22-caliber hunting rifle in a guitar case — the newspaper Libération reported that this was the first time any French president had been grabbed in this manner.
The attempt on Mr. Chirac’s life was carried out by “a far-right activist, Maxime Brunerie,” who “pulled a rifle from a guitar case.” At the time, aides to Mr. Chirac said that he did not hear the gunfire but was informed of the incident later.
The violent greeting was captured on video, which circulated quickly and caused a stir online and in the French press. While many speculated at the motivation of the assailant, which was not immediately known, others appeared to play down the attack. “These are the vicissitudes of political life, and as far as I know — and fortunately — the Republic was not endangered,” said Dominique de Villepin, the former French prime minister.
Though the attack caused a shock in France, not long ago, another European leader found himself the target of an enraged constituent during a public appearance (what the French sometimes call “bathing in the crowd.”)
In December 2009, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy was hit in the face by a statuette of a cathedral at a political rally in Milan. That assault caused significant bleeding and Mr. Berlusconi was rushed from the chaotic scene as Italians wrestled the assailant to the ground.
By contrast, Mr. Sarkozy appeared shaken but unharmed after Thursday’s assault. Another difference: it seemed unlikely to spur the sale of local tchotchkes — as the attack on the Italian leader did for souvenir sellers in Milan.
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