French police sealed off a housing estate in Marseille on Monday after hooded gunmen opened fire on a police car with Kalashnikov rifles in what a senior local official suggested was an incident related to drug crime.
France has been on high alert following Islamist attacks in Paris last month that killed 17 people. Last week, two soldiers protecting a Jewish organization and radio station were wounded in a knife attack in the city of Nice.
The shooting in Marseille happened just as Prime Minister Manuel Valls arrived for a scheduled visit to hail statistics showing a fall in crime in France's second largest city. There was no immediate information on whether there had been victims.
"This battle against drug trafficking is a long-term battle," said Caroline Pozmentier, deputy mayor of Marseille.
"It's got everything - prostitution, drugs trafficking, violence. It's a dangerous cocktail and we saw evidence of that today," Ghali told BFMTV.
While millions across France joined national homages to the victims on January 11, commentators noted the turnout in Marseille was low. Many locals said they did not subscribe to the Je Suis Charlie (I Am Charlie) solidarity movement that followed.
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