But Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve accused her of attempting to use the shooting for political gain, saying she was "seeking, as she does after every tragedy, to take advantage of it".
One police officer is killed and another is injured in a shooting in central Paris.
Investigators are trying to assess whether the gunman had accomplices, anti-terrorism prosecutor Francois Molins told a news conference, adding that the shooter had never shown any signs of radicalisation despite a long police history. He had since been released on parole.
With a record number of voters still undecided, analysts say the shooting, by a suspect said to be known to French security services for radical Islamist activities, could play into the narrative pushed by the far-right.
Three of his family members have been placed in detention, the French interior ministry said.
ISIS has since claimed responsibility for the attack.
Just days ago two men were arrested and guns and explosives (and an Islamic State flag) seized in Marseilles, foiling what was described as an "imminent" plot to attack one of the presidential candidates.
As of Friday, Le Pen was only 2 percentage points behind the front-runner, Emmanuel Macron, a centrist candidate and former banker at the prestigious Rothschild investment house, according to Paris Match.
The attack unfolded as the candidates were taking part in a final live televised debate on Thursday evening.
Bucks beat Raptors in Game 1
This was a big bounce-back game for Lowry, who was bad in Game 1, shooting 2-of-11 from the field and 0-of-6 from downtown. DeMar DeRozan is now fourth on that list, after following up his 6-for-11 first half by going 1-of-10 in the second .
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will remain in power as long as he has the backing of Russian Federation so "we must accept a compromise", Fillon said.
France has been in a state of emergency since the attacks of 2015.
"We can not afford to lose this war". Although Le Pen's rhetoric tends to go a bit farther than President Trump's, the similarities between the two are staggering, leading some to refer to Le Pen as "France's Trump".
Le Pen has raised the tone of her party's traditional rhetoric, especially her anti-immigration and Europe stance, and focused on security issues. "Anyone who pretends (otherwise) is both irresponsible and deceitful", he told RTL Radio Friday.
Bloodshed had always been feared ahead of Sunday's first round of voting after a string of jihadist atrocities since 2015, and the shooting on the world-renowned boulevard forced security to the top of the agenda in the campaign.
The 63-year-old Fillon is one of four candidates who polls suggest is capable of qualifying for the runoff vote after voters cast their ballots in the first round on Sunday.
Opinion polls have repeatedly forecast that Macron and Le Pen will make it through to the run-off, with Macron predicted to prevail.
The euro fell back on Friday, trading nearly a cent off this week's highs as investors prepared for the first round on Sunday of a tight French presidential election race.
Cazeneuve said more than 50,000 police and gendarmes and 7,000 soldiers would be on duty for Sunday's first-round vote in the two-stage election, and nothing could be allowed to "hamper this democratic moment".
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