French investigators were on Saturday questioning three people linked to a Tunisian man who stabbed a police employee to death near Paris in a suspected Islamist attack.
The murder at a police station in Rambouillet, a commuter town about 60 kilometres (40 miles) from Paris, revived the trauma of a spate of deadly attacks last year.
The victim was a 49-year-old woman named as Stephanie M., a police administrative assistant and mother-of-two, who was stabbed twice in the throat at the entrance of the station.
Her 36-year-old attacker named as Jamel G., who had not been known to police or intelligence services, was shot and fatally wounded by an officer at the scene.
President Emmanuel Macron, who was out of the country on a visit to Chad, tweeted that France would never give in to “Islamist terrorism”.
The latest violence targeting police is likely to focus attention further on the danger of Islamic extremism in France and wider concerns about security a year ahead of a presidential election.
Prime Minister Jean Castex said he would hold a meeting in Paris with ministers and security officials after the killing.
National anti-terrorism prosecutors have opened a terror investigation.
A source close to the inquiry told AFP the knifeman shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is Greatest) during the attack.
Chief anti-terror prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard confirmed “comments made by the assailant” indicated a terror motive.
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(AFP)
