Car Slams Into Crowd In France, Leaving One Dead, Five Injured

One person was killed and five others injured after a man deliberately drove his car into a group of people outside a wine bar in northern France early Saturday, prosecutors confirmed.

The attack happened in the town of Evreux, Normandy, around 4:00 a.m. local time (0200 GMT). Authorities have launched an investigation into homicide and attempted homicide but have ruled out both terrorist and racist motives.

“Unfortunately, the toll is very heavy,” Evreux public prosecutor Remi Coutin told AFP, confirming that one victim died at the scene.

According to Coutin, the incident followed an altercation involving a young woman and several men inside the bar. Security staff then forced all patrons outside. At that point, one individual retrieved a vehicle and “deliberately reversed at high speed into the crowd outside the establishment,” Coutin explained, calling the episode one that “escalated and ended in a tragedy.”

Among the five injured, two remain in critical condition. Police said they have detained three suspects—the driver, another man, and a woman—while cautioning that more arrests could follow.

Evreux Mayor Guy Lefrand extended his “deepest sympathy and solidarity with the victims, their families and loved ones,” and praised the swift intervention of emergency responders.

When officers arrived, they were met with a chaotic crowd, many of whom were intoxicated, a police source said.

Speaking later to BFMTV, Mayor Lefrand noted that the wine bar where the incident occurred had a poor reputation and should have closed earlier. “It is an establishment with a bad reputation,” he remarked, pointing out that it was supposed to shut its doors at 1 a.m.