President Trump said Friday morning that this week’s “terrorist attack in Paris” will have “a big effect” on the country’s presidential election set for Sunday.
Paris police say a gunman was shot dead Thursday after opening fire on officers along the Champs Elysees, killing one and wounding another.
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Trump did not mention any of the presidential contenders in France’s election by name. Eleven candidates are running, with four seen as have the best chances for making a run-off of two, which would be held May 7.
Trump’s tweet comes the day after he offered “condolences from our people to the people of France” during a press conference at the White House.
“What can you say? It just never ends,” Trump said, standing alongside Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni. “We have to be strong and we have to be vigilant and I’ve been saying it for a long time.”
In the wake of the shooting, French officials canceled election events set for Friday, which was supposed to be the final day of the campaign.
France has been under an extended state of emergency since the 2015 attacks in Paris, which left 130 people dead.
Far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has called for sharply increased border security, as well as the closure of every “Islamist” mosque in France.
She has been accused of trying to capitalize on a national tragedy by her closest rivals, conservative Francois Fillon, centrist Emmanuel Macron and the far-left Jean-Luc Melenchon.