A police officer was wounded in a knife attack in Paris in the Champs-Élysées neighbourhood and the attacker was shot and died of his injuries days before the opening of the Olympic Games.
Paris police chief Laurent Nunez stated that the attack was apparently not related to the Olympics and that terrorist motives were not suspected, according to AP News.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on X that the attack occurred in the 8th arrondissement of Paris when police were “responding to a call from officers securing a store.” A police spokesman quoted police as saying that security agents at the Louis Vuitton shop on the Champs-Élysées contacted police after noticing “suspicious behaviour” by a man outside the shop.
The suspect died of his wounds after being shot, the Paris prosecutor’s office said. An investigation has been opened into the attempted murder of a police officer, according to the prosecutor’s office. The police officer was hospitalised but in a non-life-threatening condition.
The Louis Vuitton shop on the street often has long queues and is one of the biggest attractions on a street filled with luxury boutiques. Louis Vuitton’s parent company LVMH has not commented on the incident.
Thursday’s knife attack comes just days after a man stabbed a French soldier patrolling Paris on Monday near the Gare de l’Est train station in eastern Paris. The man was taken to a psychiatric hospital, according to the French prosecutor’s office.
France is under heightened security ahead of the start of the Paris Games on 26 July. Paris police have imposed strict new security measures in the city centre from Thursday to prepare for the exceptional opening ceremony.
Darmanin will remain in an interim position at the Interior Ministry until a new government is formed following legislative elections earlier this month.
