President Francois Hollande
© BBC
President Francois Hollande has said that France would fight the so-called Islamic State group "by all means".

"We are confronted with a group, Daesh, which has declared war on us," Hollande said, using an alternative name for Isis. "We have to wage war, by every means, (but through) upholding the law, which is because we are a democracy."

Hollande said the assailants "claimed to be from Daesh" and branded the assault as a "vile terrorist attack". "The Catholic community has been hit, but it is all of the French public which is concerned," Hollande said.

He called for national unity in the face of terrorism, urging the French people to "create a solid bloc that no-one can split".

He was speaking after two attackers entered a church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray in a suburb of Rouen in northern France and killed a priest.