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CNN Live At Daybreak

Presidential Assassination Attempt Foiled in France

Aired July 15, 2002 - 06:41   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to try now to get Diana Muriel with us now from Paris with the latest on that what they're calling an assassination attempt of French President Jacques Chirac -- Diana.

DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Catherine. Some technical glitches here in Paris.

But we know this morning that the gunman, who is 25-year-old Maxime Brunerie, he is being held in a psychiatric wing of a hospital. He's being -- he's been talked to by some doctors this morning to see whether or not he's fit to submit to a police interrogation later on today. We'll have more details of that later.

But the gunman was standing in the crowd, Champs Elysees, as the Bastille celebrations were taking place and as the president proceeded down the Champs Elysees in an open top jeep.

I was speaking just a few minutes ago to one of the gentlemen that was in the crowd who helped to overcome the gunman. Jacques Webber (ph), he's a Frenchman, a tourist who was in town visiting with family watching the Bastille Day celebration. He said that he was standing there looking at the Republican Guard marching down the Champs Elysees and the crowd was strangely quiet. So he turned around to try and encourage his fellow bystanders to at least applaud the Republican Guard.

He saw a young man with a gun raised and looking very determinedly at the president. He heard almost instantaneously one shot and grabbed for the gun. He managed to get hold of the barrel of the gun and point it upwards into the air. The gunman then tried to pull the gun down towards him, trying to aim the barrel of the gun underneath his chin as if to commit suicide, said Mr. Webber (ph). They managed to wrestle the gun out of his hands, he and another two of the bystanders.

And they called for the police who were there in just a matter of a few seconds. There were some reports that it had taken the police some time to come to the assistance of the bystanders who had overcome the gunman. But he said that was not the case; they were there very, very quickly. So the gunman was arrested and taken away. We have yet to have any word from the police as to when the interrogation of him is going to take place. What we do know about this man, though, is that he is alleged to belong to various hooligan groups on the far right of French politics, including the far-right student group, a Groupe Union Defence.

Now he's also understood to be connected to the far-right group of a gentlemen called Bruno Megret, who is a lieutenant of Jean Marie Le Pen, who was, of course, the presidential candidate who stood against Jacques Chirac in the recent presidential elections.

Now he lives with his parents in a small suburb outside of Paris, and neighbors have described him as a very quiet young man.

After the incident, the parade, the Bastille Day Parade continued. President Jacques Chirac seemed completely unmoved by the incident. It's not clear whether or not he actually did hear that shot ring out. The parade, as I say, continued.

The president, when he gave his usual interview to journalists immediately after the parade, he did not make any mention of this incident. And he again at a -- at a garden party later on did not refer to it.

So we'll have more details, as I say, about this young man later on; but that's the situation as it stands in Paris now, Catherine.

CALLAWAY: All right, Muriel, thank you very much for that report.

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