A man held for the murders of a job centre adviser and a human resources manager in south-eastern France is being linked to earlier attacks on HR managers elsewhere. The suspect in the killings of the two women on Thursday in and around Valence was arrested soon afterwards.

Two days earlier, another HR manager was shot dead in a car park more than 500km (310 miles) away. Another human resources worker survived an attack at his home in a town nearby. Valence prosecutor Alex Perrin said initially that the 45-year-old suspect’s motives for Thursday’s murders were unclear, but they were linked to his earlier employment and his route had been carefully planned. The man is described as an unemployed engineer from Nancy in eastern France who was unmarried and unknown to the police but keen on shooting. Prime Minister Jean Castex said the killings had left the whole country in mourning and 900 job centres across France closed on Friday as a mark of respect and staff held a minute’s silence. (BBC)…[+]