Turning to southern France, where three people have been killed and a gunman shot dead in what appears to be an Islamist-inspired attack. French President Emmanuel Macron praised the police for their quick response. An investigation is underway. CGTN's Elena Casas has more.

Shortly after 11 a.m. local time, a gunman police identified as 26-year-old Redouane Lakdim hijacked a car in the southwestern French city of Carcassonne, killing the driver and seriously wounding the passenger. He then opened fire from the car at a group of off-duty riot police jogging in civilian clothes, wounding one of them.

Authorities say Lakdim then drove to the Super U supermarket in the small town of Trebes and opened fire, killing the shop's butcher and a customer and held other customers hostage when police closed in. After a stand-off lasting hours, police stormed the market and the attacker was shot dead. One officer was seriously injured after he offered to swap himself for one of the hostages. French authorities called him a hero, and President Emmanuel Macron praised the police response.

EMMANUEL MACRON FRENCH PRESIDENT "The police in particular of the gendarmerie intervened in an extremely fast and coordinated way after the attack."

Lakdim was known locally as a petty criminal, who French media report was released from prison 18 months ago.

GERARD COLLOMB FRENCH INTERIOR MINISTER "We can say that he was more of a petty offender who at a given moment took action. He was known for possession and dealing of drugs, but we couldn't have said that he was a radical that would carry out an attack."

During the stand-off, Lakdim demanded the release of Salah Abdeslam, the sole surviving assailant involved in the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris. ISIL claimed responsibility for Friday's attack online.

ELENA CASAS PARIS The interior minister called Redouane Lakdim's claim to be acting for ISIL opportunistic and described him as a lone wolf. That would fit a pattern of recent attacks in France - in which one person with no apparent links to radical Islam has suddenly murdered in its name. Elena Casas, CGTN, Paris.