A terrorist attack taken place in France? Casualties are being counted PHOTO/VIDEO

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez stated that the driver has been arrested and that an investigation is underway, with suspicions of a terrorist act, BFM reported.

Two people are in intensive care, Nuñez added in a post on X.

The mayor of Oléron, Thibault Brechkoff, told BFM TV that the suspect is around 30 years old.

BFM TV and Le Parisien reported that the driver shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) at the time of his arrest, while investigators are considering the possibility that he may be mentally ill.

The French anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office has not yet taken over the investigation, French media reported.

The prosecutor’s office was unavailable for comment.

Attempted car arson

A few minutes after the attack, the man was arrested without resistance while trying to set his vehicle on fire.

Gas canisters were found inside the car, and the vehicle was only partially burned.

He was taken into custody by the Gendarmerie brigade of Saint-Pierre d’Oléron.

According to Le Parisien, the suspect is a French citizen in his thirties who lives in La Cotinière, a village on the western coast of Île d’Oléron.

“He is known for numerous problems, especially due to regular drug and alcohol use,” said the mayor of Saint-Pierre d’Oléron, Christophe Sier.