French President Hollande leaves European summit to deal with 'terrorist' attack at gas plant

French President Francois Hollande.
(Image credit: Carsten Koall/Getty Images)

European leaders are meeting in Brussels to address Europe's migrant crisis, Greece's debt problem, and other pressing matters, but French President Francois Hollande said at a press conference Friday that he is immediately returning to France to address an apparent Islamist attack on a gas plant in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, near Lyon. "It is a terrorist attack, there is no doubt about that," Hollande said in a statement.

In the attack, at least one person drove through the gates into the gas factory, killing one person and wounding two others, Hollande said. The car hit gas containers, setting off explosions. Police sources tell The Associated Press that the severed head of the slain person was found posted at the entry gate while his body was found near the site of the exploded gas canisters, but that he wasn't killed in the blast.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.