A CAR has crashed into a pizzeria in a village east of the French capital Paris, killing a girl of eight and injuring five other people, a report says.

The driver of the car was arrested after the vehicle hit the terrace of the cafe in Sept-Sorts, near La Ferté-sous-Jouarre, BFMTV reports.

According to RTL radio, the driver, 39, told police he had wanted to kill himself and had weapons in the car.

However, the incident is not being treated as a terror attack, it adds.

Other French media confirmed that a car had struck a cafe and a police operation was under way.

France and a number of other countries have seen deadly vehicle attacks on civilians, notably in the French city of Nice on Bastille Day 2016 when 84 people were killed.