Woman shouting 'Allahu akbar' injures two with blade in France

A man was struck in the chest during the late-morning attack in La Seyne-sur-Mer, outside the Mediterranean port of Toulon, but the wound is not life-threatening, prosecutor Bernard Marchal told AFP.

A woman working at a checkout counter was also wounded, though not as seriously. Both victims were taken to hospital.

"It appears to be an isolated case by a person with known psychological problems," Marchal said, "though that doesn't exclude the possibility that she may have been radicalised."

France has been on high alert following a string of jihadist attacks since early 2015, often by people who have become radicalised or claim to have acted in the name of the Islamic State group.

The 24-year-old assailant, who did not have a police record, was overpowered by others in the supermarket and has been taken into custody.

Police later searched her home to determine if she had any links to the Islamic State group.

"We don't yet know if this is a terrorist act, but in any case it was terrifying," Marchal said.

More than 240 people have been killed in jihadist attacks since the massacre at the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in Paris in January 2015.

Last month a knifeman shouting "Allahu akbar" killed one person and wounded four others during a Saturday night attack in a bustling Paris neighbourhood.