The house caught fire and the suspect was later found dead in his car. The cause of the fire is not yet known.
A source told the Daily Mail that two officers had initially approached the house just after midnight, with the woman ‘screaming for help’ on the roof as they arrived.
As they neared the house, gunfire broke out in ‘circumstances which are yet to be clarified,’ a statement from the interior ministry said.
Arno Mavel (left), Remi Dupuis (centre) and Cyrille Morel (right) were the three gendarmes killed in an early-morning shooting in France today
Mavel was killed in an initial shootout with the gunman before Morel and Dupuis were also shot dead as they approached the house in response.