Man decapitated in French attack

Francois Hollande: "France will never give in to fear"
A man has been decapitated and several others injured at a factory in France in what President Francois Hollande has called a terrorist attack.

Two men drove into the Air Products gas factory near Lyon, officials said, before several explosions were heard.

One of multiple suspects arrested over the attack was investigated by police in 2006 it has emerged.

The dead man was found with Arabic inscriptions on him and an Islamist flag was found near the site.

At a press conference from Brussels, Mr Hollande confirmed that two attackers had targeted the chemicals factory in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, crashing into it in a car.

"We have no doubt that the attack was to blow up the building. It bears the hallmarks of a terrorist attack," he said.

Referring to the terrorist attacks in and around Paris that killed 17 people in January, he said: "We all remember what happened before in our country. There is therefore a lot of emotion."

Mr Hollande left the EU summit in Brussels to return to France.

Speaking from the scene, France's Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said one of the arrested suspects had been under investigation between 2006 and 2008.

He said the suspect is believed to be a 30-year-old man named as Yacine Sali.

"This person was under investigation for radicalisation but this investigation was not renewed in 2008. He had no police record," Mr Cazeneuve said.

There is a heavy police presence outside the factory in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier

Forensics experts are gathering evidence from the scene

Multiple suspects are reported to be in custody

Air Products makes gases for a number of industries, including food production and medicine
According to France's Dauphine Libere newspaper, a second suspect arrested at his home in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier is believed to be a man who was seen driving back and forth past the factory before the attack at around 10:00 local time (08:00 GMT).

A spokesman for Air Products said: "We can confirm that an incident occurred at our facility in L'Isle-d'Abeau, France this morning.

"Our priority at this stage is to take care of our employees, who have been evacuated from the site and all accounted for."

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has ordered that security be stepped up at sensitive sites around Lyon.

Alain Juppe, the mayor of Bordeaux, took to Twitter to condemn the attack.

"The terrorist threat is at a maximum," he said, adding that France "must make every effort to protect its citizens".