Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen attacked in Copenhagen, what we know

INTERNATIONAL – She is “shocked by the incident”. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was violently pushed by a man this Friday June 7 in a square in Copenhagen. His services announced in a press release that the attacker had been arrested.

Copenhagen police confirmed that an assault involving the 46-year-old prime minister had occurred, without giving further details. HuffPost takes stock of this attack which occurred in the heart of the Danish capital.

• What happened ?

Two witnesses, Marie Adrian and Anna Ravn, told Danish daily BT that they saw Mette Frederiksen arriving at the square while they were sitting near a fountain just before 6 p.m.

“A man came from the opposite direction and pushed his shoulder hard, causing him to trip to the side”, the two women reported to the newspaper. Although it is a “strong push”Mette Frederiksen did not fall to the ground, they clarified.

Still according to the two witnesses, the Prime Minister then went to sit in a nearby café.

• What state is the Prime Minister in?

If witnesses assure that Mette Frederiksen does not have physical injuries, she is psychologically shaken, according to her services.

“She seemed a little stressed”Soren Kjergaard, who works as a waiter on the square, told Reuters after seeing the prime minister escorted by security services following the attack.

“Mette is understandably shocked by the attack. I must say this shakes all of us who are close to him”said Danish Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke on his X account.

• What do we know about the attacker?

Marie Adrian and Anna Ravn, who were present during the attack, described the man as tall and thin. And they said he tried to run away quickly, but didn’t have time to get far before he was grabbed and taken to the ground by men in suits.

Another witness, Kasper Jorgensen, told the newspaper Ekstra Bladet that he had seen the man pinned to the ground. And what he assumes to be a member of the security service had put a knee on the attacker’s back. “They calmed him down and as he lay he looked confused and a little dazed.”, he told the daily. The Prime Minister’s services confirmed that he had been neutralized.

• What are the reactions in the context of European elections?

The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, condemned the attack on Mette Frederiksen on Friday.

Roberta Metsola urged the head of the Danish government to ” remain strong “while adding in a message published on “Violence has no place in politics”. For his part, Charles Michel said “scandalized by the attack”. “ I strongly condemn this cowardly attack”he reacted again in a separate message on X.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also condemned what she called“despicable act which goes against everything we believe and defend in Europe”in a statement posted on social networks.

This attack comes after a series of attacks against political figures of all sides, at their workplace or on the electoral campaign trail in Germany, in the run-up to this week’s European elections.

On May 15, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot several times at point-blank range while greeting supporters after a government meeting in the town of Handlova in central Slovakia. Robert Fico, who survived the assassination attempt, was taken to a hospital in a nearby town after the shooting, where he underwent two lengthy surgeries.

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