Priest attacked with knife in Nice, France

PARIS — A priest has been attacked with a knife in a church in Nice, southern France, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on his Twitter feed on Sunday.

He said the priest's life was not in danger and added that police have arrested the attacker. The assault came as France was voting in the second round of presidential elections.

Nice mayor Christian Estrosi said in a separate Twitter message that the attacker was mentally unstable, had no criminal record and was known to have purchased a knife several days earlier. BFM TV quoted police as saying the attacker was a 31-year-old French man and there was no suspicion of a terror motive.

Conservative lawmaker Eric Ciotti, who represents the region, said on his Twitter account that the priest, named Father Christophe, had been stabbed several times in the Saint-Pierre d'Arene church in Nice.

He said that a nun had been hurt in the arm as she snatched the knife from the attacker. "Extraordinary courage from Sister Marie-Claude who intervened as the attacker continued to stab Father Christophe," Ciotti said. — Reuters