France attack: What do we know about the Annecy knife attacker?

Four young children are in hospital with life-threatening injuries after a knife attack in France earlier today.

Two adults were also injured when a man armed with a knife went into a playground full of children and started stabbing people in the southeastern town of Annecy in the French Alps.

One of the young victims was British. The two wounded adults are thought to be elderly men.

The man, who authorities say is originally from Syria, was detained by police. They say it is not being treated as a terrorist incident.

What do we know about the Annecy attacker?

The attacker is a Syrian national who was granted refugee status in Sweden 10 years ago and had entered France legally, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne told a press conference after travelling to Annecy.

He has been named as Abdalmasih H by French media.

He was found with Swedish identity documents and a Swedish driving licence, according to a police spokesman.

Earlier this month he had a demand for asylum in France rejected, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.

He also made asylum requests in Switzerland and Italy.

He is 31 and “has one child who is the same age as the children he attacked,” Ms Borne said.

According to French broadcaster BFMTV, he is married to a Swedish woman, but the couple separated eight months ago and his wife has not heard from him for half of that time.

They were studying together to be nurses, BFMTV report.

Ms Borne confirmed he was not known to the French security services, and has no criminal or psychiatric history.

Mr Darmanin said he had certain “Christian religious insignia” on him during the incident.

Police have said he had “no apparent terrorist motive”.

Who was injured in the Annecy attack?

Four children and two adults were injured, police have said.

All four children – including a young British girl – are fighting for their lives.

Two of the children, earlier reported as a brother and sister but who BFMTV report are cousins, are in a life-threatening condition in hospital. They are aged two and three.

The other young victims were a three-year-old British girl, BFMTV report, and a 22-month-old German boy. They are also being treated for life-threatening injuries in hospital, according to an update from a French prosecutor on Thursday afternoon.

One of the victims is Dutch, the local prosecutor added.

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said officials are travelling to Annecy to assist the British victim’s family.

The two adult victims were both elderly men, one aged 78 and the other 70, BFMTV said. One of them is in a critical condition.

What do we know about the attack itself?

It happened in Le Paquier park, which is between the town centre and the northwestern corner of Lake Annecy.

Sky News international correspondent John Sparks says it “would be very busy at this time of year with tourists and residents out on the streets”.

One witness, who gave his name as Ferdinand, told BFMTV: “He [the attacker] jumped [into the playground], started shouting and then went towards the strollers [prams], repeatedly hitting the little ones with a knife.”

Another witness who owns a restaurant nearby, George, said: “Mothers were crying, everybody was running.”

Yohan, who owns an ice cream parlour opposite the park, said: “It’s a place where babysitters and parents take young children to play. I often see around 15 toddlers there in the morning, and the atmosphere is fantastic.”

Another unnamed bystander told BFMTV he saw first aiders working on “little bodies, three or four years old, perhaps”.

This video appears to have been taken by a bystander after the attack.

You can hear what sounds like screaming people in the background.

Two members of the public with their rucksacks appear to try to stop the attacker or slow down his progress.

What have the president and politicians said?

Emmanuel Macron said it was an “absolutely cowardly attack in a park” and the “nation is in shock”.

In Paris, politicians interrupted a debate to hold a moment of silence for the victims, BFMTV reported.

The assembly president, Yael Braun-Pivet, said: “There are some very young children who are in critical condition and I invite you to respect a minute of silence for them, for their families, and so that, we hope, the consequences of this very grave attack do not lead to the nation grieving.”

Speaking at an OECD press conference in Paris on Thursday afternoon, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly described it as a “terrible act of violence”.

“Of course, our thoughts are with the victims and the families and we stand ready to support the French authorities in whichever way we can,” he said.

Confirming the injured British child, he added: “We’ve already deployed British consulate officials who are travelling to the area to make themselves available to support the family.”

Both opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Suella Braverman have also offered their condolences.