Hooded gunmen armed with Kalashnikov rifles fired on police in the French city of Marseille, where Prime Minister Manuel Valls was paying a visit on Monday, a police source said.
Initial reports suggested that the shots were fired at a police chief, while others have said that they were fired into the air.
Elite police trooops were being sent to the scene, in the northern suburbs of the Mediterranean port city, after the shots, the source said by telephone.
According to an AFP photographer on site, special forces entered the La Castellane estate, which is known for being a drug trafficking hotspot.
Samia Ghali, a senator from the region, told iTele that she spoke with the police director and was told that the gunmen were targeting police and also firing at random.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls was due in Marseille, France’s second-largest city, on Monday to talk about security and education.
The incident comes just weeks after France was subject to a terror attack on the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish shop.
Metro