French President Emmanuel Macron has labelled a gun attack in a Parisian suburb that killed one person and injured five others "a racist terrorist attack".

Macron said the attack was a "turning point in the life of our Republic and our nation" - the first time there had ever been a random racial killing like this.

The attack unfolded over some 15 minutes, with the attacker opening fire from his car - first in Trappes, to the south-west of Paris, and then in nearby La Verrière - appearing to target people of migrant origin. He was subsequently arrested.

Three of those injured, including a 12-year-old girl, remain in a serious condition.

Macron said while visiting the scene of the attack that people had been targeted over their skin colour or religion and urged the public not to give an inch in the face of what he called "ideologies taking root".

The exact motive remains unclear, but the National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor's Office (PNAT) said the incident appeared to be "murder in connection with a terrorist enterprise".

The suspect has been named in French media as Kevin T who, according to PNAT, had four previous convictions that had been "automatically expunged".

The 39-year-old was known to police but not to France's intelligence services, local media report.

He was not on a list of individuals considered to be a serious threat to French security, the national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office told BFMTV.

A member of the suspect's "immediate family circle" was also taken into custody on Friday, it added.