A French national was arrested after he attempted to drive into a shopping area at high speed with knives and other weapons in his car, officials said on Thursday.
French President Francois Hollande said the man detained in the Belgian city of Antwerp "was looking to kill or at the very least create a dramatic incident."
The incident came just one day after three people were killed in London when an attacker drove at people walking across a bridge in a 4x4. He was later fatally shot by police.
Belgian prosecutors said the man drove into the pedestrianized De Meir shopping street at around 11 a.m. local time (6 a.m. ET).
A police spokesman said the driver had entered the street "at high speed due to which pedestrians had to jump away."
He added the driver was later arrested and additional police and military personnel had been deployed to the center of Antwerp, but did not give any further details.
"It seemed to involve a French national, with possibly a certain number of weapons in his [trunk] — it's up to the judges to make a statement on that — who was looking to kill or at the very least create a dramatic incident," Hollande told reporters. "Therefore we must continue to be on high alert."