French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve has accused Marine Le Pen of turning “an atrocity into an opportunity” after the terror attack that left a police officer dead on the Champs Elysees.
Mr Cazeneuve said the leader of the far-right Front National was seeking to divide the French people and use the attack for political gains as she reacted to the Paris tragedy.
"The Front National candidate is seeking, like after each tragedy, to utilise it and divide,” he said.
Mr Cazeneuve blamed Ms Le Pen for “seeking to shamelessly exploit fear” and said France’s “best response is to remain united”.
A day after the attack, Ms Le Pen, who has made security and immigration her priorities during the campaign, hit out at French leaders for failing to protect its citizens, called for border checks to be reinstated and all suspects on France’s terror watch list to be arrested.
The latest attack in Paris saw a suspected Isis supporter opened fire with a Kalashnikov on the famous Champs Elysees, killing one officer and injuring two others before being shot dead.
Mr Cazeneuve's intervention against candidates is an unusual one from a serving Prime Minister, coming only 10 hours before campaigning is due to end ahead of the first round on Sunday. French commentators said his motivation was itself "politicised”.
Hitting back at Ms Le Pen, Mr Cazeneuve said there was no evidence to link the country's immigration and asylum seekers policies with the attack.
In the face of growing concerns over security issues during the election, he called for “truth to be reestablished”.
Mr Cazeneuve also singled out Conservative candidate Francois Fillon's response to the attack and criticised his record on security issues when he was Prime Minister.
