Paris gunman carried note defending IS group

In a separate radio interview, Marine Le Pen said: “Today fundamentalist Islam is waging war and the measures are not being taken to limit the risks”. Le Pen’s center-right rival Emmanuel Macron also accused Le Pen and the Republican candidate François Fillon of exploiting the shooting to their advantage.

ISIS swiftly claimed the attack was carried out by one of its “fighters”.

“At that stage, no link with the radical Islamist movement was apparent”, the Paris prosecutor said. He added that the intelligence services are working “in the shadows” and elite intervention police forces are also on alert.

The attack, which was claimed by Islamic State, overshadowed the last day of campaigning for Sunday’s presidential election first round. Any marginal impact on Thursday night’s attack in Paris is likely to benefit Mr. Fillon rather than Ms. Le Pen.

Molins said the note also listed the addresses of security sites.

The reason is the presence of Marine Le Pen in the race.

On 13 November 2015, he was deployed to secure the area around the Bataclan concert hall after the IS attack, Le Parisien writes (in French).

“The fight for the French people’s freedom and security will be mine”.

Fillon, who has slowly clawed back some ground lost after a fake jobs scandal, saw his score in the first round rise half a percentage point to 20 percent.

Macron appealed to voters not to succumb to fear. He said it would be released “Wednesday or shortly thereafter” but declined to give details.

However, conservative Francois Fillon, a former prime minister whose campaign was initially derailed by corruption allegations that his wife was paid as his non-working parliamentary aide, appeared to be closing the gap, as was far-leftist candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon.

The Islamic State group quickly claimed responsibility for the attack, which hit just three days before a tense presidential election. Hollande, who’s not seeking re-election, convened a meeting of the national defense council on Friday.

The dead officer was 37, CNN affiliate BFMTV reported.

He then went around the bus and fired on two police officers posted outside a Turkish tourist office. “He also wounded a second one, it would seem very seriously”, he said.

Cheurfi served 10 years in prison after firing on two plainclothes officers in 2001 as they tried to apprehend him in a stolen auto. Two police officers were injured in the assault, one of whom remains in hospital. He was jailed again in 2013 for lesser offenses and released on probation two years later.

“A man immediately got out and opened fire on the police auto, fatally wounding a police officer”.

“Investigators discovered that he had searched on his computer for a trip to Paris on the Thalys train”, the spokesman said.

“Karim Cheurfi was known to the police and the judiciary”.

Another local man, Salim, described him as “nuts” and someone never seen at the local mosque, while fellow resident Abdel said Cheurfi had been influenced by his repeated experiences in prison.

Molins said Cheurfi had a long police record, notably for trying to attack police in the past. The two-round presidential election will take place on April 23 and May 7.

U.S. President Donald Trump elbowed his way into the French presidential elections in the only way he knows how: Twitter.

The French far-right candidate is also all praise for Trump as she was the only major French candidate who backed Republican Trump in the USA presidential election.She also congratulated Trump and even created her own manifesto behind him called “France First”.

Elena Worms, walking her dog near the Champs-Elysees, called the attack “destabilizing” and said she fears it will “push people to the extremes”.

France has been under a state of emergency for almost a year and a half, with more than 230 people killed in terror attacks since the start of 2015. Parliament voted in December to extend the extraordinary provisions to ensure the protection of upcoming presidential and general elections.