"Elected officials, and in particular parliamentarians, have been the subject in recent weeks of threatening messages, which are addressed to them directly or via social networks", writes Gérald Darmanin, the Minister of the Interior in a telegram addressed to the prefects .
"No intimidation, and a fortiori no violence, against elected officials is tolerable," he adds.
Faced with this, the prefects are invited to "strengthen the surveillance around the offices of parliamentarians as well as their homes if necessary.
"In addition," hate messages "spotted on social networks must also be reported" as soon as possible "to the Pharos platform, responsible for the fight against illegal content on the Internet.
Violence is on the increase
In early October, the Tours public prosecutor's office opened an investigation after sending anonymous letters to four elected officials, including the mayor of Tours Emmanuel Denis (EELV), accompanied by a bullet.
More recently, on October 21, the deputy of Cher Loïc Kervran and his colleague from Rhône Thomas Rudigoz, members of the majority, announced that they were filing a complaint, after receiving a message referring to the British deputy David Amess fatally stabbed during 'a parliamentary permanence the previous week.
In total, nearly 1,300 threats or attacks against elected officials were recorded in 2020, a very strong increase compared to the previous year, according to data from the Ministry of the Interior.