French couple shot dead in front of their children at home in Foulayronnes as they prepared to take them to school

Éric Simon and Stéphanie Marcassa were found dead outside their home in the village of Foulayronnes near Agen in southwest France

Local police sealed off the road leading to their home in Foulayronnes, south-west France (AFP)

A French couple have been shot dead in front of their children as they took them to school.

The bodies of Éric Simon and his wife Stéphanie Marcassa, both 42, were found outside their home in the village of Foulayronnes near Agen in southwest France.

The regional director of a construction company and his wife were killed at around 8.30am on Wednesday morning as they prepared to take their two children, aged 5 and 10, to school, Le Point reports.

Regional newspaper Sud-Ouest reported that one of the children witnessed the shooting.

He reportedly told police he had seen a man wearing a dark hood shoot his parents before fleeing the scene in a dark car.

The vehicle was found near the crime scene later that afternoon

One child is reported to have fled the scene and was found on a nearby road.

The other hid in the family home and called the police.

They were later taken to hospital to be treated for shock and are being looked after by the local authorities.

A man called Jean-Claude Petitfaux - who is believed to be a former employee of Mr Simon - was arrested in connection with the shooting on Thursday morning in a supermarket car park after a nine-hour police manhunt.

Before his arrest, local police tweeted a photograph of Mr Petitfaux - warning people to stay away as he was believed to be "armed and dangerous".