On 14 July 2002, during Bastille Day celebrations, Chirac survived an assassination attempt by a lone gunman with a rifle hidden in a guitar case. The would-be assassin fired a shot toward the presidential motorcade, before being overpowered by bystanders.Chirac escapes lone gunman's bullet , BBC, 15 July 2002 The gunman, Maxime Brunerie, underwent psychiatric testing; the violent far-right group with which he was associated, , was thence administratively dissolved.
