Paris was hit Monday by yet another suspected terror attack - this time involving a motorist who was killed after he plowed his auto into a police convoy heading down the Champs-Elysees.
A policeman was shot dead and two others were wounded in an attack on the Champs Élysées in April, just days before the presidential election.
Police have closed two of the subway stations on the Champs-Elysees, a major tourist draw in the French capital.
The attacker was killed in Monday's incident.
The interior minister said the incident shows the threat is still very high in the country and justifies the state of emergency.
The alleged attacker's vehicle reportedly burst into flames after the crash; police, who had fired on the driver, pulled the driver's body from the blazing auto, one French journalist reported witnessing. Paris officials say: Suspected attacker "downed" after driving into police auto on Champs-Elysees.
Van attack near mosque quite clearly aimed at Muslims, says police chief
Witnesses described hearing the man, who was detained by members of the public at the scene, shout: "I'm going to kill Muslims". Amid the angry screaming, people are heard trying to calm the crowd, one man saying: "Don't worry, officers are here".
"Preliminarily we speak of intentional actions", French Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said. In July previous year, a radicalised Tunisian man killed down 86 people as he rammed a truck through a crowd watching Bastille Day fireworks in the Riviera city of Nice.
France is under a state of emergency after a string of deadly Islamic extremist attacks.
"He did not cause any injuries, but the collision was a deliberate act".
The French national gendarmerie service said no-one was hurt in the incident.
They said the suspect, wearing a white shirt...
A bomb disposal police officer checks a vehicle in a sealed off area on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris on Monday.
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