COPENHAGEN — Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Saturday canceled her appointments after suffering a whiplash injury in a street attack that left her "shaken."
Frederiksen's office told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that she had been taken to a hospital for a check-up after the attack on Friday evening in a square in the capital Copenhagen.
The assault has caused a "minor whiplash injury," it said, adding that the premier was "otherwise safe but shaken by the incident" and her Saturday schedule had been canceled.
SHAKEN, NOT STIRRED Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen delivers a speech during the 175th anniversary of the first Danish Constitution in the Landsting Hall of Christiansborg in the capital Copenhagen on June 5, 2024. RITZAU SCANPIX PHOTO VIA AFP
French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday became the latest European leader to denounce the attack as "unacceptable," in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.
"I strongly condemn this act and wish Mette Frederiksen a speedy recovery," he said.
Danish police on Saturday said "a 39-year-old man will be brought before the Copenhagen district court for questioning" to decide if he is to be remanded in custody.
The hearing would be held in Frederiksberg, in Copenhagen, they added.
Two witnesses, Marie Adrian and Anna Ravn, told newspaper BT they had seen Frederiksen arrive at the square while they were sitting by a nearby fountain, just before 6 p.m. on Friday.
"A man came by in the opposite direction and gave her a hard shove on the shoulder, causing her to fall to the side," the two women told the newspaper.
They said that while it was a "strong push," Frederiksen did not hit the ground.
They described the man as tall and slim and said he had tried to hurry away but had not got far before being grabbed and pushed to the ground by men in suits.
The attack was widely condemned by leading European politicians, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who said it was a "despicable act which goes against everything we believe and fight for in Europe."
In 2019, Frederiksen became the Nordic country's youngest prime minister and kept the post after emerging victorious in the 2022 general election.
The incident follows a spate of attacks on politicians from across the political spectrum at work or on the campaign trail in Germany ahead of this week's EU elections.
On May 15, Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot four times at close range as he greeted supporters after a government meeting in the central town of Handlova.
Fico, who survived the assassination attempt, was taken to a hospital in a nearby city after the shooting, where he underwent two lengthy surgeries.
On Saturday, Fico published a photo of him voting in the hospital in the European elections and blasted the West for fomenting tensions with Russia.
"I voted in hospital," the 59-year-old said, adding: "It is necessary to elect European members of parliament who back peace initiatives and not war."
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