Marine Tondelier says the RN should explain itself rather than sue her over her remarks on the Trappes attack
Marine TondelierNational secretary of Les Écologistes and presidential candidate, on franceinfo's Nos Services Publics
Responding on franceinfo to the RN's announcement that it would take legal action against her, Tondelier says the party should explain itself rather than sue her. She says RN members have avoided television studios and not explained themselves since the attack, whose main suspect had at home RN stickers he had designed himself, and that they must draw the consequences.
Responding to
Rassemblement national leaders bear direct responsibility for the gunman's decision to carry out the October 23, 2026 racist attack in Trappes and La Verrière.
“It is up to the Rassemblement national to explain itself rather than to take me to court ... They must draw the consequences (Translated from French. Original: C'est au Rassemblement national de s'expliquer plutôt que de m'attaquer en justice ... Il faut qu'ils en tirent les conséquences)”
Reporting
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh says Rassemblement national leaders bear responsibility for the racist attack in his town; RN officials reject the accusation
On October 23, 2026, a gunman shot at passers-by in Trappes and neighboring La Verrière, west of Paris, killing Pengo Bossio Wangi, a 26-year-old Black Frenchman, and wounding seven people, including a 12-year-old girl. France's national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office opened an investigation for murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise, with the aggravating circumstance that the victims were targeted for their real or supposed race, ethnicity, nation or religion. According to anti-terrorism prosecutor Olivier Christen, the suspect, charged on October 29, admitted specifically targeting people he took to be Muslim, African or North African and chose Trappes because he saw it as a den of Islamists. Stickers praising the Rassemblement national (RN) were found at his home; he told investigators he was not a member or supporter of any party. Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh called the shooting a racist and probably Islamophobic attack and said that speeches blaming the country's ills on Arab Muslims kill. In an open letter on October 26 he wrote that Jordan Bardella and his party had placed a target on the back of every resident of Trappes, and at a rally in the town on October 30 he said RN leaders bear direct responsibility for the attacker's act, citing Bardella's description of Trappes as an Islamic republic in miniature. RN officials rejected the accusation. Sébastien Chenu, president of the RN group in the National Assembly, stood by Bardella's words and called Trappes a hotbed of jihadists; spokesperson Julien Odoul called the accusations delirious; and deputy Laure Lavalette said the RN is totally innocent of the tragedy. On November 10 Bardella said left-wing and far-left leaders, naming the mayor of Trappes and Jean-Luc Mélenchon, were putting fatwas and targets on the backs of political figures.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Report on Marine Tondelier's remarks on franceinfo's Nos Services Publics program on November 12, 2026, after the Rassemblement national said it would take legal action against her.
Reporting
About this source
AFP report of November 12, 2026 on Andréa Kotarac's announcement that the Rassemblement national would file a defamation complaint against Marine Tondelier, and Tondelier's reply on BFMTV that evening.
Before the quotation
Earlier that day Andréa Kotarac, a spokesperson for Marine Le Pen, said on franceinfo that the RN would take legal action against Tondelier, who had said on BFMTV the previous week that the suspect had at home leaflets of a party that could come to power and that people kill in its name. AFP notes the items were RN stickers that the suspect had made himself.
After the quotation
That evening on BFMTV, Tondelier said she was not claiming that an active RN member had killed people in Marine Le Pen's name, but that those who speak on television should question words that precede acts and can serve as ammunition.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is the public rhetoric of Rassemblement national leaders and other far-right politicians about Trappes, Muslims and immigrants, which Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh holds responsible for the October 23, 2026 racist attack in Trappes and La Verrière. Tondelier says the RN has failed to explain itself after the attack and must draw the consequences, and that evening says words spoken on television can precede acts and serve as ammunition, which condemns the party's rhetoric.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Rassemblement national
More from this case
Read the full caseRN spokesperson Andréa Kotarac says Marine Tondelier shames herself by blaming the RN for the Trappes attack and announces legal action
“By directly accusing @RNational_off of the racist attack in #Trappes, Ms. Tondelier is covering herself in shame. I am informing you that we are bringing legal proceedings against this person and her fake news. (Translated from French. Original: En accusant directement le @RNational_off de l'attentat raciste de #Trappes, Madame Tondelier se couvre de honte. Je vous informe que nous engageons une procédure judiciaire contre cette personne et ses fakenews.)”Read statement
Ali Rabeh says words always come before acts and that RN rhetoric about Trappes has not stopped since the attack
“Words always come before acts ... We cannot let our public debate be rotted by extremely violent words (Translated from French. Original: Les mots précèdent toujours les actes ... Nous ne pouvons pas laisser notre débat public pourri par des mots extrêmement violents)”Read statement
Jordan Bardella says left-wing leaders like the mayor of Trappes are putting targets on politicians' backs and defends his remarks on the town
“left-wing and far-left leaders putting fatwas and targets on the backs of political figures like the mayor of Trappes, and Mr. Mélenchon did it to us ... I have the right to point the finger at and to want to fight an ideology that, precisely in Trappes, sent several dozen young people to fight in Syria in the name of the Islamic State (Translated from French. Original: des dirigeants de gauche et d'extrême gauche mettre des fatwas et des cibles sur le dos de responsable politiques comme le maire de Trappes, et Monsieur Mélenchon l'a fait avec nous ... J'ai le droit de pointer du doigt et de vouloir combattre une idéologie qui précisément à Trappes a envoyé plusieurs dizaines de jeunes combattre en Syrie au nom de l'État islamique)”Read statement
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- Marine Tondelier says the RN should explain itself rather than sue her over her remarks on the Trappes attack
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The Dispute Index. "Marine Tondelier says the RN should explain itself rather than sue her over her remarks on the Trappes attack". First published: 2026-11-13. Last updated: 2026-11-13. https://disputeindex.com/events/8797-responding-on-franceinfo-to-the-rn-s-announcement