French police have launched an investigation after a prominent politician received a letter “laced with the plague and gunpowder”.
Gerald Darmanin, known as a Brexit-bashing ally of Emmanuel Macron, was the intended recipient of a letter directed to the town hall of Roubaix.
The unstamped envelope included undisclosed “inscriptions”, with black powder and racist insults.
Preliminary tests revealed “slight positivity for the plague”.
French minister sent mysterious letter ‘laced with the plague and gunpowder’ and containing racist insultsREUTERSThe disease killed millions of people in Europe during the Middle Ages.
Transmission to humans in 2024 is most common through rodent flea bites or by the handling of an infected animal.
However, the local prosecutor’s office warned the initial test results could be a “false positive”.
Full results will likely be announced on Monday.
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The campaign’s official logo of the Paris bid to host the 2024 Olympic GamesGETTYDarmanin has yet to speak publicly about the letter and police have not released any information about the possible sender or motive.
Darmanin, who serves as Macron’s Interior Minister, joined En Marche in 2017 after a lengthy stint with Les Republicans.
The incident comes amid growing disruption in France as Paris hosts the 2024 Olympic Games.
High-speed rail lines were sabotaged hours before the start of the opening ceremony in France.
French media outlets also received the same message of support for the saboteurs.
The language was characteristic of left-wing militants who poured scorn on the Olympic Games.
Darmanin has yet to speak publicly about the letter and police have not released any information about the possible sender or motive
REUTERS
“They call this a party? We see it as a celebration of nationalism, a gigantic staging of the subjugation of populations by states,” the email read.
In advance of the Games, experts warned of potential Kremlin sabotage and the threat of drone, cyber and terror attacks.
Kirill Gryaznov, 40, was arrested in Paris last week over charges of sharing “intelligence with a foreign power with a view to provoking hostilities in France”.
Gryaznov was arrested after French police intercepted a phone call.
He allegedly said: “The French are going to have an opening ceremony like there has never been before.”