A man dressed like a ninja attacked and wounded two policewomen with a sword in Cherbourg in northwestern France on Thursday before being shot and captured, a police spokeswoman said.
She said there were no immediate signs that the attack was terrorism-related.
She said the attacker had stolen a vehicle and caused an accident, after which he assaulted two policewomen who had been called to the scene, wounding one in the face and the other in the chin.
The assailant - dressed in black in the style of traditional Japanese ninja fighters - was shot three times by the officers and was flown to hospital by helicopter in serious condition.
The attack happened around 3:45 p.m. near a gas station of the Leclerc supermarket chain.
The name and nationality of the attacker were not immediately known.