A top French presidential candidate was the victim of a "flour bombing" during a campaign appearance in Paris Wednesday.

Socialist candidate Francois Hollande was speaking from behind the podium about housing when a woman rushed up and hurled a bag of flour at him, the BBC reported.

Bodyguards rushed forward to protect Hollande, covered in white, while the assailant was restrained and then hauled offstage by her hands and feet.

According to the Telegraph, the bodyguards who ran to protect the candidate also took a dusting themselves. Hollande remained calm throughout the incident.

The attacker, who later said she was 45, reportedly shouted that she had been denied justice and was being "assassinated by Socialists in Lille," according to the BBC.