Police shot dead a knife- and scissors-wielding man in Paris after he tried to attack an officer during a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe, authorities said.
A man armed with a knife and scissors was shot dead by police in Paris on Friday after he attempted to attack an officer during a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe, officials said.
The suspect, a French national born in 1978 who had previously been convicted in Belgium on terrorism-related charges, died in hospital from his injuries, the French counterterrorism prosecutor’s office said. His name was not released.
According to a Paris police official, the attacker targeted an officer guarding the ceremony to relight the eternal flame honouring unknown soldiers at the Napoleon-era monument. Another officer shot the assailant. No bystanders or police officers were injured, the official told The Associated Press.
Before the suspect died, the counterterrorism prosecutor’s office said an investigation had been opened on charges of attempted murder “in connection with a terrorist enterprise”.
The man had been sentenced to 17 years in prison by a Brussels court in 2013 for attempted murders linked to a terrorist enterprise against three police officers in the Belgian city of Molenbeek the previous year, the prosecutor’s office said.
He was first imprisoned in Belgium and later transferred to France in 2015 to serve the remainder of his sentence. He was released from prison on 24 December 2025 and had since been under judicial supervision and surveillance, the statement said.
The Arc de Triomphe is one of the French capital’s best-known landmarks and stands at the top of the Champs-Elysees.
A heavy police presence was seen near the monument on Friday evening, and the site was closed to the public. The surrounding traffic circle remained open to vehicles.
The nearby metro station was shut for security reasons at the request of police, the public transport operator RATP said.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez expressed his “full support” for the officer who intervened, praising his composure and determination in the face of what he described as a terrorist threat.
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