Man arrested after Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen 'hit' in Copenhagen

Danish police said they have arrested a man and are investigating after Frederiksen was "hit" in Copenhagen. Frederiksen's office said she was "shocked by the incident".

The Danish prime minister's office said she had been "beaten" by a man in Copenhagen's Kultorvet square. Source: AAP / Jeremias Gonzalez/AP

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has walked away following an assault by a man in central Copenhagen.

The background: Frederiksen was "hit" on Friday evening (local time) at the public square of Kultorvet in Copenhagen, by a man who was subsequently arrested, her office said in a statement.

"The prime minister is shocked by the incident."

Police said on social media platform X they had arrested a man and were investigating the incident but declined to give further details.

The attack on Mette Frederiksen comes two days before Danes head to the polls in the EU election. Source: AAP / Tomas Tkacik/SOPA Images/Sipa USA

Two witnesses told newspaper BT that they had seen Frederiksen arrive at the square while they were sitting by a nearby fountain.

They said a man came in the opposite direction and "gave her a hard shove on the shoulder" which caused her to "fall to the side".

They added that while it was a "strong push", Frederiksen did not hit the ground.

The key quote: "Mette is naturally shocked by the attack. I must say that it shakes all of us who are close to her," Danish Environment Minister Magnus Heunicke said on X.

What else to know: The assault comes two days before Danes head to the polls in the EU election.

Three weeks ago, Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico was seriously injured in an assassination attempt.

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