France honors police officer killed in Champs-Elysees attack

After killing the officer and injuring his colleagues just a few hundred meters from the Arc de Triomphe, the gunman was shot dead in return fire while trying to flee on foot, police sources told AFP.

For weeks, centrist former banker Emmanuel Macron and Le Pen have been out in front but opinion polls now show there is a chance that any of four leading candidates could reach the second-round runoff on May 7.

“In the course of 2017, he sought to obtain weapons and made statements suggesting that he wanted to kill policemen”, Molins said, adding the shooter had a long criminal record that dates back to at least 2001; he served several years in prison for driving a stolen vehicle and shooting a police officer and his brother during the pursuit. Bernard Cazeneuve, the Socialist prime minister, accused Le Pen of electoral opportunism in the face of a tragedy.

By sad coincidence, slain policeman Jugele had gone to the Bataclan concert hall – one of the targets in November 2015’s Paris attacks – on the night of its reopening, as an ordinary concert-goer.

“Whoever is the toughest on radical Islamic terrorism, and whoever is the toughest at the borders, will do well in the election”, Trump told AP.

Belgian security officials had warned French counterparts before the attack that El Osri was a “very risky individual en route to France” aboard the Thalys high-speed train.

A tourist is blocked by French soldiers next to the Champs Elysee Avenue during ongoing police operations.

Leftist candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon urged the French people to “remain cool-headed” and “to not subject ourselves to hate, vengeance and resentment”.

Fillon also seized on the attack, which was claimed by Islamic State, saying the fight against “Islamist totalitarianism” should be the priority of the next president.

Identified as Karim Cheurfi, the attacker was already a convicted criminal.

Cheurfi had spent around 14 years in prison since 2001. He was jailed again in 2013 for lesser offenses and released on probation two years later.

Mr Molins said: “The investigations will now focus on determining. the potential help that he may have benefited from”.

“He was not on the security watch list and had shown no signs of radicalisation despite his many years in prison”, said Francois Molins, a French prosecutor.

French television networks reported that the chief suspect was a 39-year-old French national known for previous violent crimes.

The vote “is really important, mainly because we really need a change in this country with all the difficulties we are facing and terrorism”, said Paris resident Alain Richaud, who was waiting to cast his vote.

National security has become a burning issue in France after attacks by militant Islamists across the country have killed more than 230 people over the past two years.

U.S. President Donald Trump has called the French presidential elections as “very interesting”. Police said they briefly detained him in February after they received reports he was collecting guns and planning to harm police, but at the time they said they found no links to Islamic extremism. Parliament voted in December to extend the extraordinary provisions to ensure the protection of upcoming presidential and general elections.