Car rams into soldiers in Paris suburb, injuring six

A car on Wednesday rammed into a group of French soldiers in a Parisian suburb, injuring six before speeding off in what officials identified as a suspected terrorist attack.

The vehicle, a BMW, was parked in an alley on Wednesday before it rammed into the soldiers as they left their barracks to go on patrol, said Patrick Balkany, mayor of Levallois-Perret, in what he described as a "disgusting" act of aggression and according to him, was "without any doubt" premeditated.

It all happened very quickly. The vehicle did not stop. It hurtled at them ... it accelerated rapidly, he told broadcaster BFM TV.

The soldiers were rushed to hospital, he added.

Police and soldiers secure the scene

Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said the driver was on the run and being sought, and an investigation was under way to determine "the motives and circumstances" for what she called a "cowardly act".

France has been under a state of emergency since November 2015 as the incident follows a string of Islamist-inspired attacks on soldiers and police, who have been deployed in large numbers nationwide after calls by militant group Islamic State for attacks on France and other countries bombing its strongholds in Syria and Iraq.