Five people were seriously injured in a shooting on Thursday night outside a restaurant in the city of Poitiers in west-central France, according to French Interior Minister Bruno Ritayo, who linked the incident to drug trafficking circles.

Between 400 and 600 people witnessed or took part in the incident, the minister said in a press statement. He added that the incident was drug-related.

A police source said one of the wounded, a 15-year-old minor, was in critical condition, AFP reported.

The shooting took place in the evening between 22.30 and 23.00. According to the Vienne prefecture, tensions had broken out between different groups who had called for the intervention of the police and gendarmerie