Three killed in a knife attack in southern France

Two weeks after the beheading of a French schoolteacher, three people were killed in a knife assault at a church in Nice, in what officials called an act of terrorism. It was quickly followed by two similar events, though it was unclear if they were coordinated.

“Very clearly it is France that is attacked,” President Emmanuel Macron said after traveling to Nice. The French authorities placed a jittery country on its highest terrorism threat level.

The killings came at a time when the government’s recent words and deeds have put it at odds with Muslims in France and abroad, including heads of state like President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey.