Terror returned to France on Sunday as a man shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) killed two women in a frenzied knife attack at Marseille’s main railway station before being shot dead by soldiers.

The two victims were aged 17 and 20, police said.

Isil claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the group's Amaq news agency.

The attacker, reportedly aged about 20, was armed with two butcher’s knives, police said.

He was known to the authorities for theft, drug dealing and other crimes but had not been flagged as a potential terrorist.

Dominique, a tearful witness, described how he grabbed one of the women from behind and slit her throat. “She couldn’t have seen a thing,” she told CNews television.

“She was lying in a pool of blood as I ran away. I heard two shots fired. It must have been the soldiers.”