PARIS, June 19 (Xinhua) -- A car rammed into a police van Monday on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris before bursting into flames, French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said.
Collomb said the driver died when the car exploded, noting that weapons and explosives have been found in the car.
"Once again our security forces have been targeted. The threat is extremely high," Collomb said on Twitter.
According to Collomb, "This new attack shows that terrorism alert remains extremely high."
At 15:40 local time (1340 GMT), a man with his vehicle crashed into police van near the presidential Palace. His car had caught fire due to a gas cylinder on board which likely triggered the fire, according to BFMTV news channel.
The 31-year-old driver was armed and has been already on police radar, it added.
Speaking to reporters, interior ministry's spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said the incident "seems to be a voluntary act".
On Twitter, Paris prefecture wrote "situation under control". But, it called Parisians to avoid the area which is cordoned off.
No casualties have been reported into the incident, it added. Paris prosecutor's anti-terrorism section had opened an investigation into the incident.
