Conservative French presidential hopeful Francois Fillon was hit in the head with flour while on the campaign trail in northeastern France on Thursday.
Fillon was among the crowd at a rally in Strasbourg when someone dumped the flour onto his head. Once the front-runner in the election, Fillon’s campaign has tanked since he was charged on Mar. 14 with misusing public funds by allegedly paying his wife and two of his children for parliamentary jobs they did not do.
His refusal to drop out of the race since then has provoked widespread ire. Someone wearing a “students with Fillon” shirt reportedly shouted “Lobbyist!” at him before dousing the candidate with the white powder, according to Express.
“I hope at least the flour was French,” Fillon said after the incident, Express reports.
[Express]
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Introducing the 2024 TIME100 Next
- Sabrina Carpenter Has Waited Her Whole Life for This
- What Lies Ahead for the Middle East
- Why It's So Hard to Quit Vaping
- Jeremy Strong on Taking a Risk With a New Film About Trump
- Our Guide to Voting in the 2024 Election
- The 10 Races That Will Determine Control of the Senate
- Column: How My Shame Became My Strength
Write to Julia Zorthian at julia.zorthian@time.com