Police officer attacked by man with knife in southern France

France Police officers

PARIS, Nov 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A police officer was attacked by a man with a knife in Cannes, southern France, and his assailant has been “neutralised”, said French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin.

The attack in Cannes comes as worries over violent crime and terrorism feature among voters’ main concerns, in the run-up to the 2022 French Presidential election.

The police were treating the incident as a possible terrorist attack, police sources said.

“I offer my support to the national police and to the city of Cannes,” said Darmanin on his Twitter account.

“The policeman who was stabbed has fortunately not been physically injured thanks to his bulletproof vest,” Darmanin added.

Local media cited a police source as saying that the officer was behind the wheel of a car in front of a police station when the attacker opened the door and stabbed him with a knife.

He then tried to attack a second policeman in the car but a third officer in the car fired his weapon, seriously injuring the attacker, the source said.