A French soldier has shot and seriously injured a man who tried to attack a security patrol at the Louvre museum in Paris.
The man rushed at the soldier and three other troops this morning with a machete shouting “Allahu Akbar” (God is great, in Arabic). He was shot in the abdomen after an attempt to restrain him failed.
French prime minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the attack at the Louvre – the world’s largest museum – was “terrorist in nature”.
The incident began at 10am local time in the Carrousel du Louvre shopping mall near the museum’s entrance.
One soldier was injured during the attack, in which five shots were fired. The attacker has been taken to hospital. He is thought to be in his 30s but no details about him have been released.
The Louvre was evacuated after the incident and hundreds of visitors there were subject to security checks. Surrounding streets were immediately closed as the area went into lockdown.
Following the Paris atrocities of November 2015 in which 130 people were killed, and the Nice truck attack in July 2016 in which 86 people were killed, France has been on a high state of alert.
The Louvre is understood to attract fewer visitors because of the ongoing terrorism fears plaguing France, but it remains one of the world’s top attractions.