A van has been driven at shoppers at
a French Christmas market in the city of Nantes and the driver is reported to
have stabbed himself, officials say. Continue...
Ten
people are reported to have been injured, five seriously.
The
exact circumstances remain unclear, but the incident comes only a day after
pedestrians were run down in Dijon.
The
driver of that vehicle screamed "God is great" in Arabic. On
Saturday, a man using the same phrase was shot dead by police after attacking
them.
Earlier
on Monday, French President Francois Hollande called for vigilance after
Saturday and Sunday's attacks, and urged the public not to panic.
The French authorities
are reluctant to say anything to encourage the idea that there is any kind of
pattern behind the three attacks.
For the first incident
at the police station in Tours, it is clear that there was a religious
motivation. The man left evidence of his conversion to extremist Islamist
views.
In Dijon, the man who
drove into pedestrians also shouted "God is great" in Arabic. But he
is known to have had a history of mental illness. This was not terrorism, is
the official line. Similarly in Nantes, there is a strict embargo on
speculation about the motives for the attack.
All of which is perfectly
understandable. But many people will be asking themselves if there is not some
copycat effect being played out. Also, even if it is established the car
attacks were the work of unbalanced individuals, might not Islamist propaganda
have played some role in pushing them to the act?
One of the traders at the market told local newspaper Presse
Ocean: "The white van was speeding towards the customers and onlookers."
fter the vehicle came
to a halt, the driver stabbed himself several times, causing himself serious
injuries, a source close to the investigation told AFP news agency.
The reasons for the
attack were not clear, the source said, adding: "As things stand, we have
no account pointing to any religious demands."
The Christmas market
was evacuated and cordoned off by police. A bomb disposal unit was brought in
to inspect the van.
Weekend
attacks
On Sunday, a driver
screaming "God is great" in Arabic ran down pedestrians in Dijon,
injuring 11, two seriously.
The man was arrested
after targeting pedestrians in five different parts of the city in the space of
half an hour.
The prosecutor in
Dijon said the attacker had a long history of mental illness and the incident
was not linked to terrorism.
In Saturday's
incident, a man stabbed three police officers in the city of Tours before being
shot dead.
Anti-terrorism
investigators have opened an inquiry into that attack.
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