PARIS — French security forces were trying to catch the suspected Strasbourg gunman dead or alive, an official said Thursday, two days after an attack near the city's Christmas market.

Local authorities, meanwhile, increased the death toll to three. The attack wounded 13 others, including five in serious condition, the prefecture of the Strasbourg region said.

More than 700 officers were involved in the manhunt for 29-year-old Cherif Chekatt, who had been flagged for extremism, government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux told CNews television.

Police have distributed a photo of Chekatt, who was wounded in an exchange of fire with security forces, with the warning: "Individual dangerous, above all do not intervene."

The government raised the terror alert level nationwide and deployed 1,800 additional soldiers across France to help patrol streets and secure crowded events.

Griveaux also called on the "yellow vest" protesters not to take to the streets, as some members of the movement have planned a fifth round of demonstrations on Saturday across France to demand tax relief.

Strasbourg was in mourning, with candles lit and flowers left at the site of the attack. The Christmas market was closed at least through Thursday, authorities said.

On Wednesday evening, people prayed and sang in the nearby Protestant Church Saint-Pierre-le-Jeune.

Pastor Philippe Eber said this is a moment "to think of those who died in this city because of violence. We also are thinking about all of those who weep for them, the families."

Strasbourg resident Tassia Konstantinidis said "it's important to have a period of mourning and to remember the victims."

The dead included a Thai tourist, 45-year-old Anupong Suebsamarn, according to the Thai Foreign Ministry.

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said one Italian was among the wounded, in critical condition. The Europhonica radio consortium said Antonio Megalizzi, 28, was in Strasbourg to follow the session of the European Parliament.

French authorities said that the suspect, born in Strasbourg, had run-ins with police starting at age 10 and his first conviction was at age 13.

Chekatt had been convicted 27 times, mostly in France but also in Switzerland and Germany, for crimes including armed robbery. He had been flagged for extremism and was on a watch list.</s>STRASBOURG, France (Reuters) - Hundreds of police scoured eastern France on Thursday for a fugitive gunman behind a deadly Strasbourg Christmas market attack that left two people dead and six others fighting for their lives.

France has raised its security threat to the highest level and police issued a wanted poster for Cherif Chakatt, the main suspect in the attack who was on an watchlist as a potential security threat.

Authorities say the 29-year-old was known to have developed radical religious views while in jail.

More than 700 police are involved in the second day of the manhunt, scouring Strasbourg, which lies on the west bank of the Rhine river, and the surrounding region. Police have set up checkpoints on the German border and questioning the suspect’s associates.

Asked if police had been instructed to catch Chakatt dead or alive, government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux told CNews: “It doesn’t matter. The best thing would be to find him as quickly as possible.”

It took police four months to track down Salah Abdesalam, the prime surviving suspect from the November 2015 militant attack on Paris, in an apartment in Brussels.

Witnesses told investigators that the suspect Chakatt cried out “Allahu Akbar” (God is Greater) as he opened fire on the Christmas market, a target Paris Prosecutor Remy Heitz suggested may have been chosen for its religious symbolism.

Chakatt’s police file photo shows a bearded man of North African descent, a prayer bruise blemishing the center of his forehead. He has 27 criminal convictions for theft and violence, and has spent time in French, German and Swiss jails.

Neighbors living on the housing estate where Chakatt family’s lived described the suspect as a typical young man who dressed in jogging pants and trainers rather that traditional Islamic robes.

Two people were killed in the attack and a third person was brain-dead but on life support, the prosecutor said. Six other victims were fighting for their lives.

The attack took place at a testing time for President Emmanuel Macron, who on Monday announced tax concessions to quell a month-long public revolt over living costs that spurred the worst unrest in central Paris since the 1968 student riots.

Griveaux said a decision had yet to be taken on whether to ban another planned “yellow vest” protest in Paris. The last three consecutive Saturdays of riots in the capital that have seen cars torched, shops looted and the Arc de Triomphe defaced.

“We’re simply saying at this stage that, given the events that are unfolding after the terrorist attack in Strasbourg, it would be preferable if everyone could go about a Saturday before the festive holidays in a quiet way,” Griveaux said.</s>Armed police have launched a security operation in Strasbourg as they hunt for a gunman suspected of attacking a Christmas market.

The attack left three people dead and wounded 13 others, including five who are in a serious condition.

More than 700 officers are involved in the manhunt for 29-year-old Cherif Chekatt and prosecutors have opened a terror investigation into Tuesday’s attack.

A police operation took place in the Strasbourg neighbourhood where Chekatt was last seen.

A French police official said security forces, including the elite Raid squad, took action based on a “supposition only” that Chekkat could be hiding in a nearby building but the operation ended without any news of his capture.

However, the Paris prosecutor’s office said a fifth person had been arrested and placed in custody in connection with the investigation.

A spokesman said the man is a member of Chekatt’s “entourage” but not a family member and he was placed in custody on Thursday morning. The four others detained were Chekatt’s parents and two of his brothers.

Asked about instructions given to police forces searching for Chekatt, government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said the focus was on catching the suspect “as soon as possible,” no matter whether he was dead or alive, and “put an end to the manhunt”.

Police have distributed a photo of Chekatt, who was wounded in an exchange of fire with security forces, with the warning: “Individual dangerous, above all do not intervene.”

Chekatt allegedly shouted “God is great!” in Arabic and sprayed gunfire from a security zone near the Christmas market.

The government raised the terror alert level nationwide and deployed 1,800 additional soldiers across France to help patrol streets and secure crowded events.

Mr Griveaux also called on the “yellow vest” protesters not to take to the streets, as some members of the movement have planned a fifth round of demonstrations on Saturday across France to demand tax relief.

Strasbourg was in mourning, with candles lit and flowers left at the site of the attack. The Christmas market was closed at least again on Thursday.

On Wednesday evening, people prayed and sang in the nearby Protestant Church Saint-Pierre-le-Jeune.

Pastor Philippe Eber said this is a moment “to think of those who died in this city because of violence. We also are thinking about all of those who weep for them, the families”.

Strasbourg resident Tassia Konstantinidis said “it’s important to have a period of mourning and to remember the victims”.

The dead included Thai tourist Anupong Suebsamarn, who was 45.

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said one Italian was among the wounded, in critical condition. The Europhonica radio consortium said Antonio Megalizzi, 28, was in Strasbourg to follow the session of the European Parliament when he was shot.

French authorities said that the suspect, born in Strasbourg, had run-ins with police from the age of 10 and his first conviction was at 13.

Chekatt had been convicted 27 times, mostly in France but also in Switzerland and Germany, for crimes including armed robbery. He had been flagged for extremism and was on a watch list.</s>French police are continuing their desperate search for the Strasbourg shooter two days after he turned a quaint Christmas market into a bloodbath.

In total 720 police and gendarmes have been scouring a huge section of eastern France using helicopter sweeps, roadside checks, border surveillance and house searches, but have uncovered no trace of 29-year-old Cherif Chekatt.

Another 500 troops have been sent to guard public places including Christmas markets amid fears Chekatt will attack again, with 1,300 more due to join soon.

There are also fears that he could have fled across the border into Germany, where he has a history of arrests.

Officers have warned that Chekatt, who has been convicted 27 times starting when he was just 13, should be considered dangerous and not to approach him.

Meanwhile it was revealed that 45-year-old Anupong Suebsamarn, who was shot dead at the market, had not intended to be in Strasbourg at the time.

Suebsamarn had been planning to go to Paris with his wife, but had changed plans at the last minute because of the Yellow Vest protests, which have seen some of the city's busiest landmarks paralysed by rioting.

After initially reporting that three people had died, authorities revised that and said one was brain-dead, while 12 people were wounded, six of them gravely.

One Italian, 28-year-old Antonio Megalizzi, was reported to be in critical condition.

Italian daily La Repubblica reported he was in Strasbourg to follow the session of the European Parliament.

Meanwhile L'Est Républicain reported that two people from eastern France were injured in the attack, one of whom was shot in the back of the neck and was in intensive care.

The other is an 18-year-old woman who has been operated on and is now recovering.

Strasbourg-based art collective Mimir told Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace that two of their members, both musicians, were injured near the Savons d'Hélène café where they were performing.

One of them, a percussionist, was shot in the neck and is in a coma. The second, a guitarist, was also injured, but less severely.

A third man, also with links to Mimir is seriously wounded in the head.

Amid the hunt for Chekatt, France raised its three-stage threat index to the highest level and bolstered troops around France.

Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said that the French native, born in Strasbourg, had run-ins with police starting at age 10.

Chekatt was mostly convicted in France but also in Switzerland and Germany, for crimes including armed robbery.

He had been flagged for extremism and was on a watch list, but the interior minister said 'the signs were weak'.

'It's a large zone and the search is difficult,' senior Interior Ministry official Laurent Nunez said on France-Inter radio.

Strasbourg is on the border with Germany, where the suspect was convicted in 2016 of breaking into a dental practice and a pharmacy in two towns.

German lawyer Thomas Röder, who served as Chekatt's public defender, told Bild that he was a very religious man, but otherwise did not seem radicalised.

He said: 'The only thing that attracted attention was his very religious attitude. He made a point of never taking alcohol or illegal drugs.

'It was also important to him that he did not have to eat pork in the prison. My client was actually a very sociable type, often joking.'

Prosecutor Remy Heitz said the man attacked with a handgun and a knife about 8pm local time on Tuesday, and was shot in the arm during an exchange of fire with soldiers during his rampage.

He then took a taxi to another part of the city, boasting of the attack to the driver, and later exchanged more gunfire with police and disappeared, Mr Heitz said.

Witnesses described shots and screams after the gunman opened fire and yelled 'God is great!' in Arabic, the prosecutor added. Swaths of the city were under lockdown for hours.

The attack in the heart of old Strasbourg, near its famous cathedral and within the Christmas market that draws many tourists, unsettled the border city that also is home to the European Parliament.

The German government said it had stepped up controls on the border with France but did not change its threat level.

'All terrorist attacks touch all of France, and it's plain to see each of the attacks have hit a highly symbolic point or moment,' Mr Philippe told parliament.

He listed violence since 2015 that killed more than 200: at the Charlie Hebdo satiric newspaper, a Kosher store, restaurants, bars and a concert hall in Paris; along the famed seaside promenade in Nice; and even inside a church in a quiet suburb of the northern city of Rouen, among others.

Strasbourg's Christmas market 'is a family and brotherly celebration that speaks about hope and what unites us. It's this celebration that was hit yesterday by a terrorist act,' he said.

The city was in mourning, with candles lit at the site of the attack, and the Christmas market was closed at least through Thursday, according to regional prefect Jean-Luc Marx.

The attack came as President Emmanuel Macron sought to take back control of the nation after a month of anti-government protests that have spread violence across the country.

It came only 24 hours after he broke a long public silence and appealed for calm amid the mushrooming 'yellow vest' protest movement that seeks a better standard of living for ordinary citizens.

He offered a package of measures, but it was not clear if that would halt the weekend protests.

'The terrorist threat is still at the core of our nation's life,' government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux quoted Mr Macron as saying at the weekly Cabinet meeting.

Interior Ministry official Mr Nunez said Chekatt had been radicalised in prison and had been monitored by French intelligence services since his release in late 2015, because of his suspected religious extremism.

Mr Nunez told France-Inter that police went to his apartment in an outer neighbourhood of Strasbourg on Tuesday morning. Authorities said he was not there, although five other people were detained.

Police seized a grenade, a rifle and knives in the operation, Mr Heitz said.

Yellow Vest protesters urged to stay off the streets The French government has urged Yellow Vest protesters to hold off another round of demonstrations scheduled to take place in Paris this weekend. Spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said ministers decided against banning the marches outright, but asked people to be 'reasonable' amid a massive manhunt for Strasbourg shooter Cherif Chekatt. It comes after conspiracy theorists accused the government of staging the terror attack in order to quash the Yellow Vest movement. Yellow vest protesters clash with police firing tear gas during demonstrations in Paris last Saturday. French authorities have urged activists to cancel a march this weekend Writing in online forums, one protester said: 'You'll see next week there won't be a single yellow vest. Well played, Macron.' Another added: 'Coincidence, chance? Or just manipulation!', while a third said: 'They want to create fear so that people don't take to the streets.' President Emmanuel Macron has already offered the marchers a £9billion package of concessions including pay rises and tax cuts. But many complained that the measures were too little, too late, and vowed to continue with weeks of protests, which have often turned violent. 'Our security forces have been deployed extensively these past few weeks,' Griveaux said, while insisting that 'it's not up to us to say if the movement should be called off or not.' The request comes after conspiracy theorists accused the government of staging the Strasbourg attack in order to quash their movement In the wake of the Strasbourg attack, 'it would be better if everyone could go about their business calmly on Saturday, before the year-end celebrations with their families, instead of demonstrating and putting our security forces to work once again.' Last Saturday nearly 90,000 police were mobilised across the country for the protests, with 8,000 officers and a dozen armoured vehicles deployed in the capital where scores of stores, museums and monuments were closed. But protesters still smashed windows, looted stores and burned dozens of cars in many parts of the city.</s>STRASBOURG, France (AP) — A fourth person died Friday from wounds suffered in an attack on the Christmas market in Strasbourg, as investigators worked to establish whether the main suspect had help while on the run.

The prosecutor's office announced the death three days after the attack in the eastern French city and a day after the suspected gunman was shot dead by police.

Although they did not entirely clarify their announcement, prosecutors appeared to suggest that the person who died Friday was one of 12 wounded people and not another person who has been described as being brain dead.

Paris prosecutor Remy Heitz, who handles terror cases throughout France, told a news conference that seven people are in police custody, including four family members of Cherif Chekatt and two who were detained on Thursday night.

Chekatt, 29, was shot dead Thursday during a police operation in the Neudorf neighborhood of the city.

"We want to reconstruct the past 48 hours in order to find out whether he got some support," Heitz said.

The Strasbourg shooting was the latest in a series of deadly attacks that have claimed more than 200 lives in France since 2015.

On Friday the Christmas market reopened for the first time since the attack amid tight security. Interior Minister Christophe Castaner attended the reopening and had a stroll to meet with shopkeepers.

Access to the market has been reduced while extra police officers and military have been deployed to the site, in addition to private security guards.

"This Christmas market is part of our history. It's part of our common events and belongs to all the French people," Castaner said. "And this morning, we wanted to show, as we walked down the lanes, that we always know how to get our head up again."

Heitz gave more details about the police operation that led to Chekatt's death on Thursday evening after a two-day manhunt. He said the suspect was localized after police received two crucial tipoffs from Neudorf residents. Three officers patrolling in Neudorf ultimately spotted a man corresponding to the suspect's description. He noticed their vehicle and tried unsuccessfully to enter a building. When police officers identified themselves, Chekatt turned around and opened fire.

"A projectile hit the vehicle above the left rear door, two police officers responded, shooting several times, and killed him," Heitz said.

The immediate aftermath of the shootout between French security forces and the suspect was caught on camera from across the street, with video footage showing armed officers at the scene and the body of the man slumped in a doorway.

More officers arrive at the scene soon after, followed by crime scene investigators.

The Paris prosecutor's office formally identified the man as Chekatt, a Strasbourg-born man with a long history of convictions for various crimes, including robberies. Chekatt also had been on a watch list of potential extremists. He had his first conviction at 13, and had 26 more by the time he died at age 29. He served jail time in France, Germany and Switzerland.

Witnesses said the gunman shouted "God is great!" in Arabic and sprayed gunfire from a security zone near the Christmas market on Tuesday. Security forces wounded the man in the arm but he managed to escape in a taxi.</s>French police officers gather near the dead body of a man lying in the doorway of a building after a shootout with police in Strasbourg, eastern France, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018. The dead man was suspected of being the gunman who killed three people near a Christmas market in Strasbourg. Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said the dead man's identity hasn't been confirmed yet. But Castaner said the "individual corresponds to the description of the person sought since Tuesday night," 29-year-old Cherif Chekatt. (AP Photo)</s>French security forces have said they are trying to catch the gunman suspected of attacking a Christmas market dead or alive.

The attack in Strasbourg left three people dead and wounded 13 others, including five who are in a serious condition.

More than 700 officers are involved in the manhunt for 29-year-old Cherif Chekatt, who had been flagged for extremism, government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said. Prosecutors have opened a terror investigation into Tuesday’s attack.

Police have distributed a photo of Chekatt, who was wounded in an exchange of fire with security forces, with the warning: “Individual dangerous, above all do not intervene.”

The government raised the terror alert level nationwide and deployed 1,800 additional soldiers across France to help patrol streets and secure crowded events.

Mr Griveaux also called on the “yellow vest” protesters not to take to the streets, as some members of the movement have planned a fifth round of demonstrations on Saturday across France to demand tax relief.

Strasbourg was in mourning, with candles lit and flowers left at the site of the attack. The Christmas market was closed at least again on Thursday.

On Wednesday evening, people prayed and sang in the nearby Protestant Church Saint-Pierre-le-Jeune.

Pastor Philippe Eber said this is a moment “to think of those who died in this city because of violence. We also are thinking about all of those who weep for them, the families”.

Strasbourg resident Tassia Konstantinidis said “it’s important to have a period of mourning and to remember the victims”.

The dead included Thai tourist Anupong Suebsamarn, who was 45.

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said one Italian was among the wounded, in critical condition. The Europhonica radio consortium said Antonio Megalizzi, 28, was in Strasbourg to follow the session of the European Parliament when he was shot.

French authorities said that the suspect, born in Strasbourg, had run-ins with police from the age of 10 and his first conviction was at 13.

Chekatt had been convicted 27 times, mostly in France but also in Switzerland and Germany, for crimes including armed robbery. He had been flagged for extremism and was on a watch list.</s>France's interior minister on Friday dismissed a claim by the Islamic State group that it was responsible for a shooting spree at a Christmas market in Strasbourg after the gunman was shot dead by police, ending a 48-hour manhunt.

STRASBOURG: France's interior minister on Friday (Dec 14) dismissed a claim by the Islamic State militant group that a gunman who killed four people at a Christmas market in Strasbourg was one of its "soldiers", as investigators sought to understand his motives.

Attending the reopening of the Christmas market, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said a Twitter post by the IS propaganda wing saying Cherif Chekatt was one of its "soldiers" was "completely opportunistic".

"We're dealing with a man who was consumed by evil," he told reporters after touring the famed market.

President Emmanuel Macron was to visit later in the day after attending a European Union summit in Brussels, his office said.

Officials praised the massive public help and quick police reaction that led to the death of 29-year-old Chekatt, a career criminal with 27 convictions in four countries, late on Thursday.

He was tracked down at around 9pm (2000 GMT) when a police patrol spotted him on a street in the Neudorf district where he was last seen after his gun and knife attack on Tuesday night.

Around 800 people called in tips to a hotline after the authorities released his name and photo on Wednesday night.

Two calls in particular were "decisive" in finding Chekatt, France's anti-terror prosecutor Remy Heitz said.

The information allowed police to cordon off an area while a helicopter equipped with a heat-seeking camera overflew the gardens.

Spotted by a police patrol, Chekatt tried to escape by entering a building.

Unable to get in the door, he turned and shot at the three officers with a handgun when they tried to approach.

Two police officers returned fire and killed him, Heitz told a press conference in Strasbourg.

Four people were killed and 12 injured, including one who has been declared brain-dead and another still in critical condition, according to the latest toll.

Two more people were detained for questioning overnight, bringing to seven the number in custody, including Chekatt's parents and two brothers, Heitz said.

Another brother, who like Chekatt was on France's anti-terror watchlist for suspected extremists, has been detained in Algeria, sources close to the inquiry told AFP.

Police are now focusing their investigation on whether Chekatt had any help in carrying out his attack or while on the run.

Questions remain over how Chekatt was able to evade the tight security perimeter set up around the Christmas market, which has long been a prime target for jihadist groups.

Around 500 police, security agents and soldiers control access at checkpoints on the bridges leading to the river island, a UN World Heritage site, that houses the market.

The goal is to "create a bubble with searches at the entry points," Mayor Roland Ries said after the attack, while regional government representative Jean-Luc Marx said he had not determined "any flaws in the security measures".

Many residents, however, were not convinced after Chekatt managed to slip through the controls with a handgun and a knife.

"It doesn't surprise me," said Emeline, 38, who works in the city centre. "You wear a heavy coat, put something in the bottom of your bag. You can bring in what you want."

France has been on high alert since the start of a wave of militant attacks in 2015, which prompted a threefold surge in the security budget for the market, to €1 million.

Chekatt, a Strasbourg native who lived in a rundown apartment block a short drive from the city centre, was flagged by French security forces in 2015 as a possible Islamic extremist.

But Defence Minister Florence Parly rejected criticism that Chekatt's presence on the extremist watchlist should have prompted a more proactive reaction from the authorities.

"You can't ... arrest someone just because you think he might do something," Parly told Radio Classique on Friday.

'WE CAN'T SEARCH EVERYONE'

Strasbourg's deputy mayor Alain Fontanel admitted that despite patrols, plainclothes police, profilers and video surveillance, "the risks can be reduced, but not eliminated".

"We can't pat down and search everyone, only carry out random checks," he said, adding that huge lines at checkpoints would only create a new potential target for terrorists.

"Someone who wants to get in an area this big with a weapon can do it," he said.

Such reasoning was little comfort to the residents and tourists who flock to the Strasbourg market.



"We thought this would happen only in Nice or at the Bataclan, but here it is at home," said Sylvain, who works at another market in the city centre.

He was referring to a truck attack which killed over 80 people at Bastille Day festivities in the French Riviera city of Nice in 2016, and the massacre in the capital's Bataclan concert hall in November 2015.</s>The death toll in an attack on Strasbourg’s Christmas market rose to three on Thursday as police searched through eastern France and manned checkpoints on the German border in a hunt for the suspect.

Police issued a wanted poster for Cherif Chekatt, the main suspect in the attack, who was on a watchlist as a potential security threat. Authorities say the 29-year-old was known to have developed radical religious views while in jail.

READ MORE: Trump cites Strasbourg Christmas market shooting as reason for U.S.-Mexico wall

France has raised its security threat to the highest level in response to Tuesday evening’s shooting rampage, which Strasbourg’s mayor said was indisputably an act of terrorism.

Two people were killed and a third victim who was hospitalized has now died, the Paris Prosecutor’s office said. A fourth victim has been declared brain-dead. At least 12 people were wounded, several of them critically.

More than 700 police were taking part in the second day of the manhunt in Strasbourg, which lies on the west bank of the Rhine river, and the surrounding region.

WATCH: Gunman kills at least three, wounds 11 others in Strasbourg, France

Armed French and German police manned controls on either side of the Europe Bridge, which spans the frontier. Traffic on the French side was heavily backed up as officers inspected vehicles during the morning rush-hour.

Police in the German town of Kehl, on the opposite riverbank, said they had received several reports of possible sightings on Wednesday but all were false leads.

Asked if French police had been instructed to catch Chekatt dead or alive, government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux told CNews: “It doesn’t matter. The best thing would be to find him as quickly as possible.”

It took police four months to track down Salah Abdesalam, the prime surviving suspect from the November 2015 militant assault on Paris, in an apartment in Brussels. One hundred and thirty people were killed in that attack as well as seven gunmen and bombers.

The Christmas market, a hugely popular attraction in the historic city, remained closed on Thursday.

Witnesses told investigators that the suspect Chekatt cried out “Allahu Akbar” (God is Greater) as he opened fire on the market, a target Paris Prosecutor Remy Heitz suggested may have been chosen for its religious symbolism.

WATCH: Police seen near city centre after gunfire in Strasbourg

Chekatt’s police file photo shows a bearded man of North African descent, with a prayer bruise on the center of his forehead. He has 27 criminal convictions for theft and violence, and has spent time in French, German and Swiss jails.

Neighbours on the housing estate where Chekatt family’s lived described the suspect as a typical young man who dressed in jogging pants and trainers rather than traditional Islamic robes.

“He was a little gangster, but I didn’t see any signs of him being radicalized,” said one local association leader who declined to be named, standing outside Chekkat’s apartment building.

READ MORE: At least 2 dead in shooting near Strasbourg Christmas market in France, gunman on the run

The attack took place at a testing time for President Emmanuel Macron, who on Monday announced tax concessions to quell a month-long public revolt over living costs that spurred the worst unrest in central Paris since the 1968 student riots.

Griveaux said a decision had yet to be taken on whether to ban another planned “yellow vest” protest in Paris. The last three consecutive Saturdays of riots in the capital have seen cars torched, shops looted and the Arc de Triomphe defaced.

“We’re simply saying at this stage that, given the events that are unfolding after the terrorist attack in Strasbourg, it would be preferable if everyone could go about a Saturday before the festive holidays in a quiet way,” Griveaux said.</s>The Strasbourg Christmas market shooting has fanned the flames of a debate about how to keep Europe safe, with MEPs from opposite sides of the aisle providing RT with radically different views about what must be done.The deadly attack in the northeast French city, which killed two people and left more than a dozen wounded, seems to have had a profound effect on EU parliamentarians - many of whom were present when their Strasbourg-based headquarters was put on lockdown following the shooting.Greek MEP Stelios Kouloglou, a member of the European United Left-Nordic Green Left, said that his deep concern for those stuck on the streets of Strasbourg during the attack quickly turned into anger.The left-leaning MEP said that the parliament held a minute of silence for the victims of the attack - a practice that, according to him, was becoming far too frequent due to the regularity of similar attacks across Europe.He thinks what needs to be done is "changing policies to find the sources of terrorism and to attack the resources of terrorism."Hailing from the opposite end of the political spectrum, Christine Arnautu - a French MEP for right-wing National Rally, and the party's vice president for social affairs - also noted the solidarity displayed by parliamentarians following the attack. She warned, however, that candlelight vigils won't keep France safe."Everyone has showed compassion, all the deputies, because these incidents are very traumatizing. But when it comes to real solutions ... it is not enough to light up candles, to cry, to say, like they do all the time, 'je suis Charlie', 'je suis Strasbourg', 'je suis Bataclan.' No, we are France and we want France to live in peace."The suspected gunman in the attack - 29-year-old Cherif Chekatt, who was born in Strasbourg but whose family roots trace back to Morocco - has rekindled a longstanding debate in Europe over immigration and integration.In order to create lasting security in Europe, the wars in the Middle East must be brought to an end, Kouloglou said. The Greek MEP also encouraged Europe to engage with "moderate Islam" and a stressed that stereotyping Muslims would only lead to more hate and violence.Arnautu urged France to expel all people currently on the country's terror watch list, noting that Chekatt had been flagged but was still not stopped from carrying out an attack. She also accused immigrants of not being sufficiently loyal to the French state.Ultimately, according to Arnautu, the Strasbourg attack should compel France to rethink its open borders with the rest of Europe, which has allowed for a "free circulation of people" resulting in "criminals" entering the country."It was said that this attacker has previously been in Germany or elsewhere. He might be crossing borders now. Every time we have such a tragedy, we get back to the topic of border control. For example tonight I believe the Franco-German border is controlled, but it's too late."Both parliamentarians believe something must be done to prevent further attacks on European soil - but a clash of ideologies may serve as a serious hurdle to comprehensive action that can be agreed upon.Returning to the issue of integration, the Greek MEP noted: "We don't have to blame refugees or immigrants. We have to blame ourselves."He said that painting Islam and refugees with such a wide brush would only lead to more tragedy.Arnautu, on the other hand, blamed Europe's left-leaning and liberal parties for the continent's security problems."There are ideologists, who, despite all the tragedy, the deaths we've been witnessing for the past six years, keep saying that we should be tolerant, we should live together," she said."No, we don't want to live together with them. And I think we will see a lot of bad things if we stay in this EU, instead of protecting our sovereignty."
An Italian journalist to the European Parliament who was wounded during a terrorist attack in Strasbourg, France, dies of his injuries, raising the death toll to four.