Mr Besse was shot outside his home

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More than 60 people have been killed after an attack on a group of foreign tourists visiting a temple in southern Egypt.

The tourists' bus was fired on as they visited the temple of Hatshepsut, one of the main attractions in the town of Luxor in southern Egypt.

An Egyptian police spokesman said most of the dead were Swiss and Japanese tourists.

The spokesman said the six gunmen were killed in an ensuing two-hour gun battle with police.

According to initial figures released by Egypt's interior ministry, 57 tourists, a local guide and two policemen died in the attack.

Other reports say the death toll could rise as high as 75, with up to 85 people injured.

An Islamic extremist group, the outlawed Gamaat-al-Islamiya, is reported to have said it carried out the attack.

It came as 65 alleged members of the Islamic group went on trial in Cairo accused of conspiracy to murder.

Islamic militants have targeted tourists since beginning a campaign in 1992 to topple the government of Hosni Mubarak and set up a strict Islamic state.

Two months ago, nine Germans and an Egyptian driver were killed when gunmen opened fire on a bus in Cairo.

Two men have since been sentenced to death for the shootings.

Luxor, about 310 miles (500 km) south of Cairo, is visited by about two million tourists a year.

It has not previously been attacked by militants who have strongholds in other parts of southern Egypt.

In the past five years, attacks by militants have seen 34 foreign tourists killed and cost a total of more than 1,100 lives.   

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Mr Besse was shot several times at about 2030 local time (1930 GMT) outside his home.

The killers, said to be a man and a woman, rode up on a motorcycle as Mr Besse emerged from his chauffeur-driven car.

The car chief was shot in the head and chest and died where he fell on the pavement.

No group has yet said it carried out the attack but French authorities suspect it is the work of the left-wing, anti-capitalist group, Action Directe.

If confirmed, it would be the group's first attack on an individual since killing a defence ministry official, General Rene Audran, in January last year.

It has since owned up to a number of bombings in Paris which targeted government buildings.

Georges Besse had been the head of the state-owned Renault car firm since January 1985.

He was credited with turning the loss-making company around and taking it into profit in September.

However, his methods which included laying off 21,000 workers in his first 18 months in post led to bitter opposition from trades unions.

President Francois Mitterand who is on a tour of African nations said the death of Georges Besse caused him "great pain".

"This event confirms one more time that all our forces must unite against terrorism, withoutflinchingand without compromise," Mr Mitterand said.