Attack on a policeman under the Arc de Triomphe, attacker killed

The man who threatened an officer with a knife at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris died of his injuries after another officer on the scene opened fire at him. "The suspect died of his injuries," the French national anti-terrorist prosecutor's office announced around 9pm.

"The events took place during the preparation of the ceremony to rekindle the flame," said French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, who was in Toulon today. "The suspect attempted to attack the gendarmerie soldiers with a stabbing weapon, including members of the gendarmerie band who were preparing for the ceremony," he added. This was reported by broadcaster Bfmtv.

The suspect in the knife attack on an officer this evening under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris had been sentenced in 2013 to 17 years in prison for stabbing two policemen in Brussels the year before. The French newspaper Le Figaro learned this from a source close to the file.

Brahim B. - according to Le Figaro - was also registered with the French Micas (individual administrative control and surveillance measure), subject to probation and geolocated by the police.

The attack took place shortly after 6 p.m., during the re-lighting ceremony of the flame of the Unknown Soldier. A second police officer, who was on the scene, used his service weapon to neutralise the man.