An armed student has been arrested after police fanned out around a picturesque town in southern France following a high school shooting that left three people wounded.

The incident at the Alexis de Tocqueville high school in the town of Grasse provoked shock in France, where such school shootings are rare.

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The country remains tense and under a state of emergency after deadly Islamic extremist attacks over the past two years.

One student with weapons was arrested, according to a French police official.


The official would not elaborate on what weapon or weapons the teenager was carrying.

Juliette Meadel, the government minister for victims’ affairs, tweeted that two people were wounded and all the students are now safe.



Police cordoned off the area and worried residents gathered outside, along with several emergency vehicles.

The town is about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the southern city of Nice.

A worker at a nearby electronics shop said police had asked residents to stay indoors.

An employee of sports chain Decathlon, which has a branch less than 500 metres from the high school, said he had seen about 40 students leaving the area and gathering in a nearby car park.

The government sent out an alert warning of an attack after police reported that shots were fired.

The alert came in a system implemented by the government after the deadly November 2015 attacks in Paris.

The French government issued a national terrorism alert (Picture: AFP)