Priest shot outside the Greek Orthodox church in Lyon, France.

Updated 2 hours ago

A GREEK ORTHODOX priest was shot in front of his church in the city of Lyon, and police are looking for the attacker, French police said.

The priest is in a local hospital with life-threatening injuries after receiving a blow to the abdomen, a police officer told the Associated Press.

The attacker was alone and fired with a hunting rifle, the official said.

Police closed the neighborhood around the church and warned the public on Twitter to stay away.

The motive for the attack is unclear.

Contrary to what I have heard and seen a lot on social media in recent days, our country has no problem with any religion. Everyone practices freely! Without stigmatization: France is attached to peace and coexistence.

– Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) October 31, 2020

It comes two days after a knife attack on a Catholic church in the French city of Nice that killed three people, amid tensions over the publication of cartoons mocking the Muslim prophet Muhammad.

French counterterrorism authorities were not investigating Saturday’s shooting, although the interior minister activated a special emergency team to follow up the case while the attacker was still at large.

Prime Minister Jean Castex reiterated the government’s promises to deploy military forces to religious sites and schools.

He said the French can “count on the nation so that they can practice their religion in complete safety and freedom.”

Seeking to defuse tensions and explain France’s defense of the prophet’s cartoons, President Emmanuel Macron gave an interview broadcast Saturday on the Arab network Al-Jazeera.

Macron also tweeted that “our country has no problem with any religion,” adding: “No stigmatization: France is committed to peace and harmonious coexistence.”