A murder investigation has been launched after a young man was found dead in a car in the French village of Villerupt, a few kilometres south of the border with Luxembourg.

The man was reportedly born in 2002 and lived in Rodange in Luxembourg. His body was discovered on Thursday evening in his partner's car, said Nancy public prosecutor François Pérain.

The Républicain Lorrain reports that the car was found parked by an abandoned clinic which is known as an unauthorised landfill site.

Pérain announced that a gunshot wound was present in the man's head, with bullet casings discovered by investigators nearby as well as a wad of bills.

An autopsy will be carried out on Monday to determine the time of death, which Pérain suggested could have occurred days before the body was found.

RTL

Nancy prosecutor François Pérain / © le procureur de la République de Nancy, François Pérain. EFF PACHOUD / Archives AFP

The victim's mother had reported the man as missing to Luxembourg authorities on Wednesday.

The case has now been transferred to Metz police.