Man Stabs Himself After Ploughing Into Market

A man driving a van has ploughed into a crowd at a Christmas market in Nantes, western France, injuring 10 people.

The driver drove at a chalet serving hot wine in front of which several people were gathered, a witness said.

"I just saw the car charging into the stand, completely ramming into people," an elderly woman said.

A source close to the investigation said he then stabbed himself "at least nine times," causing himself serious injuries.

The Christmas market was evacuated and secured by police.

The crash followed a similar incident in the French city of Dijon yesterday. In that incident at least 13 people were injured, two of them seriously, after a driver targeted passers-by in five different areas of the city.

Witnesses told police the driver was heard shouting he was "acting for the children of Palestine" during the rampage, which lasted about half an hour.

However, a prosecutor said the 40-year-old driver had been to psychiatric hospital 157 times and had no known links to jihadist groups.

That attack came a day after another man, who was also heard shouting "Allahu Akbar," stabbed three police officers in the central town of Joue-les-Tours.

Bertrand Nzohabonayo, the man arrested over the stabbings, has a brother on a domestic terrorism watchlist but is not on it himself.

Two days before attacking the police station, Bertrand had copied his brother in posting an Islamic State flag on his Facebook page.

President Francois Hollande has asked the prime minister to call an emergency meeting to discuss the three attacks.

However, the source said they had "no account pointing to any religious demands" in connection with the latest crash at the market.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the attacker appeared to be "unbalanced" and not motivated by politics or religion.