The arrested man is not on France’s database of radicalised individuals (FSPRT) but was known to police for a string of minor offences, including damage to property.
A motorist deliberately drove into pedestrians and cyclists on Wednesday across two neighbouring towns on the Île d’Oléron, a quiet island off the western coast of France, injuring five people before being detained by gendarmes, officials said.
Two of the injured were in critical condition, said Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez. He said an investigation was underway and that he was heading to the scene.
The mayor of Dolus-d’Oléron, Thibault Brechkoff, said that several deliberate collisions left nine people injured, some in his town. A crisis cell was set up and the suspect was arrested, he said.
"We are extremely shocked," Brechkoff said on BFM-TV. "All municipal services are fully mobilised. Two helicopters are on site transporting the gravely injured to Poitiers."
Poitiers is on the French mainland.
He said he himself called the mother of one of the injured victims. "You're never prepared to announce news like this," he said.
Christophe Sueur, the mayor of the nearby Saint-Pierre-d’Oléron, said the front of the car used by the suspect was "completely torn off".
He said it looked like the driver aimed to hit as many people as possible and "was fully aware of what he was doing."
Media reports identified the suspect as a 35-year-old French national residing in La Cotinière, a small fishing village on the west coast of Île d’Oléron.
The man is not on France's database of radicalised individuals (FSPRT), the prosecutor said, but was known to police for a string of minor offences, including property damage.
The man shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) at the moment of his arrest, public prosecutor Arnaud Laraize said.
The incidents took place along roadside areas between the two towns, with first calls around 9 am, according to French media.