A routine handover of two children turned into a violent family confrontation in eastern France, leaving a 34 year old father fighting for his life after he was stabbed.
The incident happened Sunday evening in Servin, a small commune in the Doubs department, according to French regional media.
The man had gone to collect his children, aged 3 and 7, and was accompanied by his 61 year old mother when a confrontation involving his former wife and her partner broke out.
According to L'Est Républicain, the dispute continued on a public road and the father suffered a stab wound to his left side while inside a vehicle.
Emergency services responded in force.
Firefighters, gendarmes and a SAMU medical helicopter were deployed to Servin. The injured man was transported by helicopter to a hospital in Dijon in an absolute emergency, with his life considered to be in danger at the time of the evacuation.
His mother was also injured in the face.
The man's former wife and her partner were treated for bruising, while emergency crews also attended to the two children who were near the scene, L'Est Républicain reported.
Investigators are now working to determine exactly how the confrontation escalated and who was responsible for the stabbing.
Prosecutor Solène Nonnier told the French newspaper that investigators planned to question those involved as well as witnesses in order to establish precisely what happened.
Authorities are currently focusing on the possibility that the violence was connected to a dispute over the children's custody arrangements, although the precise circumstances remain under investigation.
The case has attracted significant attention in France, with searches related to the incident surging as reports of the father's critical condition spread online.
