ETA members have, for the first time in their history, killed a French gendarme.
The incident happened on Tuesday night in Dammarie-les-Lys, near Paris, after a number of individuals, possibly as many as ten, were involved in robbing a second hand car centre of six vehicles.
The driver of one of the stolen vehicles sped through an intersection where police officers were trying to carry out controls. The remaining stolen vehicles were following behind and the occupants opened fire on the police.
The deceased is 52 year old Jean-Serge Nérin, a father of four. He was wearing a bulletproof vest at the time of the shooting but was hit under the arm, the bullet reaching his heart.
One man has been arrested since the incident, ETA member Joseba Férnández Adurz, but the French authorities are looking for up to ten others thought to be involved in the incident. Joseba Férnández Adurz was on the run and the subject of a search and capture warrant issued in Spain.