GETTY - REUTERS A number of French politicians have warned the country is on the brink of civil war

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Jonathan Miller, an elected city councilor in southern France, said “the mood is turning nasty” after the country was hit by its third terror attack in 18 months. Mr Miller said: “Normally, it takes quite a bit to excite my neighbors under the languid southern sun, but as one horror has followed another, I am no longer taking for granted that they will put up with this much longer. “An isolated immigrant population and a strident right-wing political faction in a country awash with guns has created a toxic and explosive mixture.

France may be on the edge of something resembling a civil war Jonathan Miller

“France, a nation long considered a beacon of liberty and stability, may be on the edge of something resembling a civil war.” He said members at a local hunting club, who are legally entitled to carry firearms, are preparing for a bloody conflict - with membership quadrupling in recent months. Mr Miller revealed: “I wish I could say this was just hysterical exaggeration. But the evidence does not support complacency.

TWITTER - JONATHAN MILLER Jonathan Miller, a councillor in southern France, said France was a country on the edge

“Just down the road from me on the outskirts of Montpellier on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, there's long been a gun club where enthusiastic game hunters can polish their skills during the off-season. “The new members are not all motivated by the love of shooting sports. Benoit, a local olive farmer who owns more than a dozen rifles, pistols and shotguns, as well as an AK-47 assault rifle, admitted to me this weekend something much darker. “‘They're getting ready for a war,’ he said.”

Bastille Day Massacre: 84 dead Sat, July 16, 2016 84 people have been killed and 100 more injured in the southern French city of Nice after a lorry was 'deliberately driven' into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in a confirmed terrorist attack. Play slideshow REUTERS 1 of 25 French President Francois Hollande giving a statement following the attack in Nice, during a national television address in Paris

Mr Miller’s worrying comments came after the country’s security minister also warned “we are on the brink of civil war” in the wake of last Friday’s horrifying terror attack. Patrick Calvar, of the country’s homeland security team, said the growth of extremism, in terms of both religious fanaticism and far-right politics, could result in an all-out conflict. Even before the devastating attack last week, in which a jihadi used a 20-tonne truck to kill 84 people celebrating Bastille Day, Mr Calvar said the country was on the edge. He warned the French parliament this summer: “Europe is in danger. Extremism is on the rise everywhere and we are now turning our attention to some far-right movements who are preparing a confrontation.

GETTY 84 people were killed in last Friday's terror attack in Nice

“We are looking now at far-right extremists who are just waiting for more terrorist attacks to engage in violent confrontation.” He said “one or two” more attacks could spark the internal conflict, due to the ferocious anger of many citizens towards the government’s response to the problem. Prime Minister Manuel Valls has been sharply criticised for saying French citizens must “learn to live” with terrorism, after a third devastating attack in just 18 months. He was booed today at a remembrance ceremony for those who died in the tragedy, with one resident saying they needed a “stronger Prime Minister.”

GETTY Far-right politicians like Marine Le Pen are soaring in popularity

The 60-year-old woman, who did not want to be named, said: “They want him to resign because he didn't put enough police on on the day. "I was there and didn't see police. It's terrible to say but we need a stronger Prime Minister with laws against radicalism "I am very sad. It has broken families apart for nothing."