Two alleged ETA terrorists who shot a gendarme have been arrested in France.

One of them, Itziar Moreno, is one of the most wanted ETA activists by the security services who is accused of placing an ETA car bomb in Bilbao, and the other has been named as Oier Gómez Mielgo, who is the known to have been the last terrorist to flee the ETA base in Obidos, Portugal.

They were finally taken into custody on Sunday at a police control in Croze, in the centre of France, after managing to escape arrest following two shoot-outs with the police on Saturday, in which one officer was hit in the shoulder.

It happened during the current ‘general and verifiable cease fire’, announced by the Basque terrorists.

The two will appear in court in Paris shortly.

In Spain the latest political grouping linked to ETA, Bildu, has expressed its rejection of the shoot outs and has underlined that the cease fire remains in place.

The Partido Popular has said that it is clear that there is an active terrorist group. PP Basque spokesman, Leopoldo Barreda, condemned the shooting in France and called for the security measures which have been efficient up to now to remain in place.