Three unrelated attacks across France over the last three days have left more than 20 people injured, prompting the French government to announce plans on Tuesday to further raise security in public spaces during the holidays.
The three attacks had no connection to each other and were unrelated to terrorism, said Prime Minister Manuel Valls, who requested that citizens remain calm and avoid overreacting to isolated incidents, the Associated Press reported.
"The events are serious and worrying," Valls said on Europe 1 radio. "Even if there's no link between them, I can understand the concern of citizens."
The latest of the three attacks came yesterday as a man plowed through a Christmas market in the western city of Nantes in his van, injuring more than 10 people, one of whom has since died, President Francois Hollande told reporters Tuesday morning.
A nearly identical rampage occurred the night before where a driver plowed into a holiday crowd in the eastern city of Dijon, running down several crowds and injuring 13 people before coming to a halt, police authorities said, adding that both men, who had long histories of mental illness, had been taken into custody, according to Bloomberg News.
Contrary to media reports, the attacker did not say "God is great" in Arabic, said Mohammed Bader Ghegate, one of the witnesses at the scene. "I said that to myself: 'Allahu Akbar, help us so there is no bloodshed,'" Ghegate told the AP.
On Dec. 20, a 20-year-old man in Joue-les-Tours who had converted to Islam three years ago was killed after he stabbed and injured two policemen.
"Just because someone takes an image pervasive in society at a given moment and wants to take part in a kind of violence seen elsewhere, doesn't mean the person is motivated by politics or religion," said Jean-Marie Le Guen, another top French official.
Since the attacks have heightened concern about terrorism, Valls called a meeting of ministers Tuesday morning to discuss the attacks and urged people to go about their business in the run-up to the year-end holidays.
"We're reacting with determination and cool-headedness," Valls said. "People need to go about their daily lives while remaining vigilant."
Meanwhile, Valls has announced that between 200 and 300 soldiers will be deployed across the country to increase security during the holiday period, Agence France-Presse reported.
