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Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale
National
Michael Fitzpatrick

French police shoot dead two people in separate incidents

French police on Wednesday shot and killed a 22-year-old woman in Rennes and a man in Nice in two separate incidents. AFP - STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN

A 22-year-old French woman was shot and killed in the western city of Rennes during an anti-drug operation on Wednesday, while a man was shot dead by police in the Mediterranean city of Nice following suspicious behaviour at the wheel of a vehicle.

Police authorities said the man killed in Nice was driving a stolen vehicle and refused to obey an order to stop.

An officer used a service weapon to fire a single shot at the driver, while a passenger in the vehicle was detained.

In a separate incident in Rennes, a woman aged 22 was killed and a man, 26, was wounded when police opened fire while making an arrest during an anti-drugs operation.

Paris incident

Meanwhile in Paris, a police officer shot and seriously wounded a man who reportedly threatened him with a broken bottle overnight Tuesday near the Eiffel Tower, a police source said.

The officer in the Paris incident is in police custody and an investigation has been opened into attempted homicide by a person holding public authority.

"The police officer was the subject of an extremely brutal and violent attack to which he reacted with professionalism and self control," the officer's lawyer told reporters.

French police officers in August shot and killed a homeless man who brandished a knife at Charles de Gaulle airport outside Paris.

And in July, a French policeman was charged with involuntary manslaughter after shooting dead a driver who sought to evade police in an incident on a bridge in central Paris.

That decision by judges to press charges was criticised as "unacceptable" by the right-leaning Alliance police officers' union, which underlines officers' right to "legitimate defence".

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