Police say they have come under fire in an infamous housing estate in the French city of Marseille after residents said "Kalashnikovs" were being fired, though no victims were reported.
The outbreak of violence in La Castellane, an estate known as a drug trafficking hotspot, came just hours before Prime Minister Manuel Valls was due to visit the southern port city to hail the progress made in fighting crime.
It was not immediately clear what sparked the violence at a time of high jitters following the Paris attacks last month, but Marseille is known for rampant gang-related gun crime that has even prompted calls for the army to be sent in to police the toughest neighbourhoods.
According to a source close to the case, residents in the housing estate - where a 25-year-old was shot dead last month in a settling of scores - alerted the police earlier on Monday that "five to ten" hooded people had fired "Kalashnikovs" in the air.
There were no victims, the source added, and police rushed to the scene to deal with the situation.
On their arrival, they were shot at while still in their cars, said local public security director Pierre-Marie Bourniquel, who is running the operation.
Children who were in a creche in the estate were moved to a neighbouring school, according to the source, who wished to remain anonymous.
Security forces are still hunting for those who fired the Kalashnikovs, and riot police will deploy in the estate over the next few days, Bourniquel said.
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