Police are searching for four gunmen who stormed a casino in the southern French city of Aix-en-Provence, causing several injuries and stealing cash before fleeing.
Regional police chief Laurent Nunez said the robbery occurred overnight at the Pasino casino. The gunmen fired warning shots with automatic rifles, prompting panic among the 700 people inside, he told The Associated Press.
Many people are still on edge after Islamic extremist attacks around Paris in November that killed 130 people, and the country remains under a state of emergency. Nunez insisted that Saturday's robbery was "absolutely not a terrorist act."
Jean-Marc Barre of the local fire department said on BFM television that 15 people were evacuated with light injuries suffered in the panic.
The casino reopened today under extra security.
