France's prime minister raised the nationwide assault alert to "emergency" on Thursday following a knife assault within the Mediterranean metropolis of Good that killed three – a dramatic step within the aftermath of the third violent incident in two months that seems to have some connection to Muslim extremists. An assailant armed with a knife entered the Notre Dame Basilica and killed not less than two individuals there. A 3rd fled however was mortally wounded, native officers say. Good Mayor Christian Estrosi informed a neighborhood tv outlet that the attacker, who was wounded by police and hospitalized, repeatedly shouted throughout the assault, "Allah Akbar!" a standard expression amongst Muslims meaning "God is nice" but additionally one which has been related to extremists acts in latest a long time. Native police say the perpetrator seems to have been performing alone, and they don’t seem to be searching for any further suspects. France's anti-terrorism prosecutor's workplace will examine the killings. The situation of Thursday's assault is half a mile from the location of one other violent incident in 2016 wherein a person plowed a truck right into a crowd gathered to rejoice Bastille Day, killing dozens. And it follows not less than two different violent acts in latest weeks. Final month, a person looking for asylum in France attacked bystanders with a butcher knife exterior the previous workplaces of the satirical journal Charlie Hebdo. Lower than two weeks in the past, an assailant decapitated a French center college instructor in a Paris suburb after he confirmed caricatures of the Prophet Muhammed to his class on free speech. The identical caricatures had been revealed by Charlie Hebdo in 2015, prompting a gunman to assault the paper's editorial assembly. Muslims forbid any bodily depiction of the Prophet Muhammed. France's decrease home of parliament suspended debate within the aftermath of Thursday's assault and held a second of silence for the victims. The Related Press reported French President Emmanuel Macron was planning to journey to Good later within the day. The most recent violence apparently motivated by Islamic extremism has pressured France to grapple with its fiercely secular society. Macron mentioned earlier this month within the aftermath of the beheading that it amounted to an assault on "freedom of expression, freedom of conscience and the fitting of blasphemy." France has lately imposed authorized restrictions on non secular apparel to incorporate conventional robes and head coverings, prompting widespread outrage from some Muslims who could put on them and a few non secular freedom teams. Macron had earlier this month prompted widespread backlash from Muslims when he mentioned that Islam seems to be a faith "in disaster." These assaults have "put France entrance and middle in a debate over the identification of the nation," personal intelligence agency The Soufan Group wrote in an evaluation observe on Monday. It additionally confused the potential for additional violence as extremist networks like al-Qaida and the Islamic State group search to "exploit the scenario in France to recruit new followers and incite additional assaults in an try and destabilize Western nations." But tensions seem like rising, together with retribution in opposition to Muslims. Two Arab ladies have been stabbed close to the Eiffel Tower days after the instructor's beheading. Muslim civil rights and advocacy group the Council on American-Islamic Relations or CAIR issued a journey warning to Muslims on Wednesday, encouraging them to not journey to France as they could face "hazard and discrimination there." The warning cited what the group considers "the French authorities's 'hypocritical and harmful' marketing campaign of Islamophobic bigotry concentrating on French Muslims, mosques and Islamic organizations." Govt Director Nihad Awad referred to as on the French authorities to finish what he referred to as its "irrational, unlawful and hypocritical marketing campaign of bigotry in opposition to its personal residents."CAIR has beforehand confronted criticism for what some contemplate its anti-Israel agenda and ties to hard-line Muslim organizations such because the Muslim Brotherhood.