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They wanted to come to the aid of a threatened woman and died in the rescue operation: France mourns the loss of three police officers who were shot by a violent criminal in the middle of the night.
A fourth gendarme was injured.
Prosecutor Éric Maillaud spoke of a "real war scene" - hundreds of cartridge cases were found at the scene.
The woman had fled to the roof of her house in a remote central French village on Wednesday night.
She alerted the police through a friend that she had been beaten by her new partner, the prosecutor reported.
The house was on fire.
The officers died while trying to save the woman.
The perpetrator was determined to "cause a slaughter," said the investigator.
The severe attack just before Christmas caused consternation and sympathy in the country.
"The nation shares the pain of families," said Head of State Emmanuel Macron via Twitter.
To protect the citizens, the security forces risked their lives: "They are our heroes," said the president.
The gendarmes killed were 21, 37 and 45 years old.
Suspect was found dead
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The suspect was found dead about one and a half kilometers from his home.
One assumes a suicide, so the prosecutor.
Among other things, an assault rifle was found, and the suspect had four knives on his belt.
The 48-year-old gunman fled after setting fire to his house in the small town of Saint-Just, southeast of the city of Clermont-Ferrand.
The security forces used more than 300 officers and a helicopter in the nightly search for the fugitive.
The woman is safe.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin went to the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne to offer his condolences to colleagues from the gendarmes who were killed.
Apart from terrorist attacks, it is one of the worst incidents in the history of the security forces, said the depressed-looking head of department.
"We owe them respect and recognition." Four children are now orphans, he said, referring to the families of those killed.
The alleged perpetrator had a custody battle over a child from a previous relationship, said investigator Maillaud.
Violence between the man and his new partner was previously unknown.
The man with military training was a marksman and had an "extremely worrying profile," according to the investigator.
"The perpetrators of domestic violence are a threat to society," said the Minister of the Interior in the Ministry of the Interior, Marlène Schiappa, on the BFMTV channel.
Injured policeman taken to hospital
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The injured policeman was taken to a hospital.
Although the gendarmerie belongs to the military in France, it takes on police tasks and is therefore also subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior.
In France, intimate partner violence is a sad ongoing issue.
It was only in the summer that parliament passed a new law that allows for a relaxation of medical confidentiality to protect against domestic violence.
Doctors or medical staff can report suspected acts of violence to the authorities if they suspect that there is an imminent threat.
Attacks on the police, rescue workers and bus drivers have sparked debates in France in recent months.
Prime Minister Jean Castex condemned violent attacks on law enforcement officers in his government statement in the summer and assured the police of support.