Violence against elected officials: "No territory is immune," according to a report released by the Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Interior

Attacks on elected officials fell by 9% between 2023 and 2024, but still represent up to 40 attacks per week, according to figures revealed by Minister François-Noël Buffet.

"No territory is immune: cities, the countryside and even overseas territories," laments François-Noël Buffet, Monday, May 19, in an interview with Le Figaro . The Minister Delegate at the Ministry of the Interior reveals the statistical conclusions of the Center for Analysis and Combating Attacks on Elected Officials (CALAE): in 2024, local elected officials suffered 2,501 attacks (compared to 2,748 in 2023, a drop of 9%), or 30 to 40 per week, including 250 physical attacks.

"Given the concentration of elected officials in its territory, the Paris region is logically the most affected: 40%," specifies François-Noël Buffet. "But no elected official in France is spared by the explosion of violence," he warns. According to his figures, mayors are the main victims and account for 64% of the attacks.

"This is extremely concerning because they are on the front line responding to local needs and they are authority figures."

François-Noël Buffet

Le Figaro

Among the victims, municipal councilors suffered 18% of the attacks, followed by parliamentarians, who suffered 13% of the attacks. "We noted 10% of violence, 68% of threats and insults (including 24% online), and 8% of destruction and damage," explains François-Noël Buffet. "We have a responsibility to ensure that they can act safely," he adds.

The Minister Delegate at the Ministry of the Interior welcomes "the implementation of numerous tools" which, according to him, "have already made it possible to improve the legal protection of elected officials, their physical protection, that of their families, and to strengthen sanctions." According to CALAE figures, attacks on elected officials fell by 9% between 2023 and 2024, but François-Noël Buffet fears an increase in violence in the run-up to the 2026 municipal elections.

The minister promises that a "new elected official pack" will be distributed for the upcoming municipal elections. "It is essential that elected officials better understand their prerogatives in matters of administrative policing and crime prevention, to ensure security in their communities," he maintains. He also wants to generalize emergency call buttons. "Tried for nearly a year, they have proven their effectiveness, today every elected official must be able to benefit from them," the minister says.