French police hunt ETA suspects after officer killed

However, in recent weeks increased security measures by the French have led to hundreds of arrests and seriously weakened the group.

At the end of February, the man believed to be ETA's military leader, Ibon Gogeaskoetxea, was arrested in Normandy along with two suspected accomplices.

UNLIKELY CHANGE IN TACTICS

Tuesday's killing was unlikely to herald a more aggressive attitude towards the French authorities, according to Juan Aviles, a history professor at Spain's UNED open university.

Instead, they may be struggling to operate effectively.

"You get the impression that they're improvising, that they lack professionalism as criminals."

Until Tuesday, ETA had not claimed a fatal victim since July, when it killed two police officers on the island of Majorca with a bomb.

Polls indicate a significant minority of the inhabitants of the Spanish Basque Country, where Basque language and culture have remained distinct, would like independence, although only a smaller number sympathise with violent groups. In the French Basque Country, the distinctive Basque language is no longer widely spoken and separatist sentiment is weak.

(Editing by Matthew Jones)