AT LEAST two people have been killed and 10 left critically injured after a car “deliberately” slammed into a crowd of people in France.

The driver, 26-year-old Russian national Ibrahim I., has been arrested and now faces charges of murder and intentional violence with a weapon.

He is accused of deliberately driving into pedestrians outside a train station in Caen, in the Normandy region, on Wednesday night.

Seven of those injured are in a critical condition and 10 more suffered minor injuries.

All victims are believed to be men aged between 17 and 40, who were near a local bar when the chaos struck.

Those who died included an 18-year-old Afghan, while other victims included an Egyptian and Bangladeshi.

The suspect is understood to be from the Russian republic of Chechnya and was living in France legally as a refugee, an investigating source said.

The alleged attack is said to have followed a fight that broke out near the bar, local media reported.

A source said: “The ramming is thought to have occurred after a violent argument inside the bar.

“The suspect left, and then returned with his car, attacking the men outside the railway station, as they milled around a tram stop.”

He also tried to sink the car he used in the River Orne, near Ouistreham, after the alleged attack.

“He was traced by CCTV, and gendarmes intercepted him as he was trying to get rid of the car in the river,” the source said.

“It was salvaged, and is being inspected by forensics officers. There are numerous impacts on the bodywork.”

Footage circulating online shows multiple people lying on the floor by a train platform as horrified witnesses crouch over them.

Bystanders claimed the BMW deliberately mounted the pavement before the victims were hit at speed.

Emergency workers can be seen running frantically between the injured while others call out for support.

The suspect, who is of an Afghan background but has Russian citizenship, fled the scene but was later arrested around 20km away.

He was not known to intelligence services and the police had only been aware of him over previous “traffic offences”, Claviere said.

Philippe Leonardo, the city’s deputy public prosecutor, said: “An investigation has been opened on charges of murder and intentional violence with a weapon.

“At this stage, there is no indication of a terrorist motive, but the investigation is only just beginning.”

Bruno Coutanceau, a top security official for Caen, said: “For the moment, we are not dealing with a terrorist motive, but the investigation is only just beginning.”

Footage from the aftermath showed huge crowds gathering around police and ambulances.

A large area was seen cordoned off by police tape amid the chaos.

Aristide Olivier, the Mayor of Caen, said: “It is an absolute tragedy.

“The car belonging to the driver – who fled at high speed after ploughing into the crowd – was tracked using the city’s video surveillance network.”

It comes after a separate horror incident in Évreux, just 100km east of Caen, in August last year when a car ploughed into a crowd outside a wine bar.

A driver “deliberately reversed at high speed”  into a group of pedestrians killing one and injuring five, a judge said.

A man in his thirties died at the scene, while two men aged 31 and 52 were rushed to hospital in critical condition.

Two other pedestrians aged 34 and 58 were also hospitalised in moderate condition, while a 50-year-old woman sustained light injuries.

The apparent attack is said to have followed an argument inside the La Winery bar on Winston Churchill Street.

Three people were arrested – two who were inside the car and one who was outside, according to the judge.

The manager of the wine bar decided to close the late-night drinking spot early after a fight broke out between multiple people, according to prosecutors.

Around a hundred people reportedly spilled out onto the street – which is when the car sped into them.