A young girl has been killed and at least 12 people injured after a car deliberately drove into a pizzeria in a small village to the east of Paris.

The car ploughed into the busy terrace of the restaurant in Sept-Sorts, a village of about 450 inhabitants in Seine et Marne.

A spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior said the young girl killed was 13-years-old. He added four people were in a critical condition and eight suffered from less serious injuries.

According to local media, the driver has been arrested. He reportedly attempted to commit suicide last week.

French police authorities have confirmed on Twitter that an operation is ongoing in Sept-Sorts and urged people to stay away from the area.

The public prosecutor's office in Meaux said this was "a deliberate act" which seems "to have nothing to do with a terror attack", Le Parisien reports.

One witness told BFMTV: "I had just paid and was about to leave the restaurant when a car drove straight into the terrace, it hit the bar and became wedged inside the restaurant.

"The driver wanted to reverse but some people who were nearby prevented him from doing by standing behind the car. The police was quick to arrive and they arrested him there and then.

"For me this was deliberate and it was a terror attack. There were about 20 people on the terrace of the restaurant and they were all mowed down by the car."