Macron pledges to deploy soldiers across France after Nice and Avignon attacks

Emmanuel Macron has pledged to strengthen his military presence throughout France following a deadly attack in a church in Nice.

A woman beheaded and two others killed in a church in Nice while a far-right gunman was shot dead in Avignon. A guard was also injured at the French consulate in Saudi Arabia.

Three people were killed in an attack on Notre-Dame Basilica in Nice, all of whom had their throats slit, a police spokesman told The Independent, adding that one other person was injured.

Local sources named one of the victims as Vincent Loques, 55, sexton of Notre-Dame. A 60-year-old woman was beheaded while a younger woman who was stabbed managed to get to a cafe across the street, where she died of her injuries, prosecutors said French anti-terrorist Jean-François Ricard. A 44-year-old woman was also seriously injured.

Mr Macron said France had come under an Islamist terror attack and said he would deploy thousands more troops to protect French sites, such as places of worship and schools. After the Nice attack, the Prime Minister raised France’s security alert to its highest level.

About 250 km (155 miles) away, in Avignon, a gunman was shot dead after brandishing a weapon at passers-by. A police spokesman told The Independent he claimed to belong to the far-right group Mouvance Identitaire. He was killed after he refused to drop his gun and a flashball shot failed to stop him, the official said.

On the same day, a man was arrested after assaulting and injuring a guard at the French consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Anti-terrorism investigators are investigating the attack inside the Notre-Dame basilica, which claimed the churchwarden’s life, according to Christian Estrosi, mayor of Nice.

The suspect continued to shout “Allahu Akbar” even after being arrested by police, the town’s mayor told reporters, adding that the attacker continued to shout it while receiving medical treatment at the scene.

A witness told The Independent they were heading towards the barbers when they heard people screaming. “I saw the police closing off the area,” the 18-year-old said. “Then shortly after, gunshots rang out throughout the church.” They then began to “run out of fear”.

The mayor of Nice said the alleged attacker was shot dead by police while in custody and was taken to hospital.

Mr Ricard said the suspect is a 21-year-old Tunisian man who reached the Italian island of Lampedusa, a key landing point for migrants crossing boats from North Africa, on September 20 and returned to Paris on October 9.

A Tunisian security source and a French police source identified the suspect as Brahim Aouissaoui. In addition to a 30cm knife he used to carry out his attack, police said Aouissaoui was in possession of two other blades, a copy of the Koran and two telephones.

Mr Ricard told a press conference in Nice that the man entered the town by train early yesterday morning and went to church. The suspect is hospitalized in critical condition, he said.

“The methods correspond, without a doubt, to those used against the brave teacher of Conflans Sainte Honorine, Samuel Paty,” said Mr Estrosi, referring to the French teacher beheaded earlier this month in an attack in the suburbs. Paris after showing the students cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad published for the first time by Charlie Hebdo. “France has again become a victim of Islamic terrorism… There is no doubt as to its intentions behind its actions.”

Speaking from the stage, Mr Macron said France had been attacked “for our values, for our taste for freedom, for the ability on our soil to have freedom of belief. And I say it again very clearly today: we will not give in. »

Islamic State did not claim responsibility for the Nice attack, but published a photo of the emergency response in its weekly propaganda newspaper, published Thursday evening.

The image was at the top of a long article calling for new attacks in France and against French interests around the world, referring to Charlie Hebdo caricatures and calling for revenge for the “mockery” of the Prophet Muhammad.

Isis called for violence against the French and businesses, instead of boycotts and protests, saying a ‘real threat to lives’ could force authorities to ban similar posts and stop ‘provoking Muslims’ .

It came a week after another Islamic State propaganda article praising the killing of teacher Samuel Paty and calling for new attacks on “crusaders”.

Several jihadist groups, including al-Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban, have also disseminated propaganda attacking France over the cartoons and its response to the murder of Mr Paty, raising fears of a new wave of attacks.