One person has been killed and five others injured after a car was deliberately driven into a crowd outside a bar in northern France in the early hours of Saturday morning.
The incident took place at around 4am in the town of Évreux, Normandy, following a dispute outside La Winery bar on Winston Churchill Avenue.
Prosecutors said two men and a woman had been taken into custody. An investigation has been opened into homicide and attempted homicide, though terrorism has been ruled out.
Rémi Coutin, the local prosecutor, confirmed the death and described the number of victims as “very heavy”. Of the five injured, two remain in a critical condition.
According to officials, the violence began with an altercation involving a young woman and several men, which prompted staff to escort customers outside. The confrontation escalated, and a man then entered a vehicle and reversed at high speed into the crowd.
Guy Lefrand, the mayor of Évreux, called the incident “a terrible tragedy”. In a statement, he said: “A fight broke out, causing a crowd to erupt, and a vehicle struck several people.” He extended his condolences to the victims’ families and praised the work of emergency services and police.
“The situation has now returned to calm,” the mayor added. “An investigation is under way to establish the exact circumstances of this tragedy.”
