French police have come under fire in Marseille amid high tensions in the wake of January’s deadly attacks in Paris.
The Castellane neighbourhood of the southern port city is now under lock down after witnesses say they saw men in balaclavas firing weapons towards officers.
The director for public safety, Pierre-Marie Bourniquel, told local media that shots were fired at a police vehicle, narrowly missing it.
Early indications say the shooting appears to be gang-related rather than a terror attack.
A Marseille police source said: “Shots were fired at police vehicles. Roads in and out of the estate have now been blocked, and officers are dealing with the situation. There are no reports of casualties so far.”
Security across France is still high in the wake of the Paris terror attacks where Islamic extremists attacked the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a supermarket in Paris.
Twelve people died when gunmen Said and Cherif Kouachi attacked the offices of Charlie Hebdo.
A policewoman was shot dead the next morning, and then there were four more fatalities in a grocery store before three Al Qaeda and Islamic State-linked terrorists were themselves gunned down.
