Two young women were stabbed in the main train station of Marseille in a suspected terrorist attack.
Guard soldiers at the station hit the bomber, whom the police described as the North African's appearance and about 30 years old. Witnesses said they shouted "Allahu akbar" (God is the greatest).
One victim had her throat cut off and the other was stabbed in the stomach. They were 17 and 20 years old.
President Emmanuel Macron said he was disgusted with the "barbaric act."
He paid homage to the soldiers and police officers who responded.
The attack occurred by a bank outside the train station of Saint Charles in the south of France.
Interior Minister Gérard Collomb told reporters that the bomber had fled after the first murder but returned to killing again.
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Soldiers were already at the station as part of Operation Sentinelle, which sees combat troops patrolling streets and protecting major sites amid France's state of emergency.
This corresponds to a pattern of recent attacks
By Hugh Schofield, BBC News, Paris
The police are treating this as a terrorist attack, but there are many question marks about the man and his motivation.
French media reports that the killer was 20 years old with a police record for minor offenses.
If so, this fits in with a constant pattern of recent attacks in France by individuals who seem to have a deep hatred for French authority, aggravated by exposure to Islamic ideas.
Travelers gather on the steps of the Marseille train station, in front of a police van (October 1, 2017) Image copyrightREUTERS
Terrorist attacks in France
January 7-9, 2015 - Two Islamist armed men twist the Parisian offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 17 people. Another Islamist militant kills a policeman the next day and takes hostages at a Jewish supermarket in Paris. Four hostages are killed before police shoot the dead man. The other two gunmen are cornered and killed by police in a siege
November 13, 2015 - Jihadists armed with bombs and assault rifles attack Paris, targeting the national stadium, cafes and concert hall of Bataclan. The coordinated assault leaves 130 people dead and more than 350 wounded
June 13, 2016 - A knife jihadist kills a police officer and his partner at his home in Magnanville, west of Paris. He declares his allegiance to IS and the police later kill him
July 14, 2016 - A huge truck cuts a crowd of people on the beautiful beach front during the Bastille Day celebrations, killing 86. It claims the attack - by a driver in Tunisia, later shot dead by the police
July 26, 2016 - Two attackers share the throat of a priest at his church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, Normandy. They are shot dead by the police
February 3, 2017 - An Egyptian with a machete shouting "Allahu akbar" attacks French soldiers at the Louvre Museum in Paris - he is wounded and wounded
April 20, 2017 - A well-known terror suspect opens fire on the Champs Elysees police in Paris, killing one and wounding two. He is shot dead - and the assault is claimed by IS
