Knifeman kills German tourist, wounds others near Eiffel Tower in Paris
- The 26-year-old suspect, a French national arrested after the attack, had pledged allegiance to Islamic State in a video recorded before the assault
- European security officials have warned of a growing risk of attacks by Islamist militants amid the Israel-Gaza war
A man armed with a knife and a hammer killed a German tourist and left two people, including a British man, wounded near the Eiffel Tower in Paris late on Saturday in what President Emmanuel Macron called “a terrorist attack”.
A 26-year-old suspect, a French national arrested after the attack, had pledged allegiance to Islamic State in a video recorded beforehand, anti-terrorism Prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard said on Sunday.
The suspect had told police he was angry about the situation in Gaza and the fact that “so many Muslims are dying in Afghanistan and in Palestine,” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.
The German tourist suffered fatal injuries when he was attacked on the Quai de Grenelle, a few feet from the Eiffel Tower, authorities said.
The attacker was chased by police and assaulted two other people, including the British man, with a hammer, officials added.
European security officials have warned of a growing risk of attacks by Islamist militants amid the Israel-Gaza war, with the biggest threat likely from “lone wolf” assailants who are hard to track.
An investigation was under way into murder and attempted murder in connection with a terrorist organisation, prosecutor Ricard told a news conference. Three other people from the suspect’s family or entourage were in police custody, he added.
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The suspect had in 2016 been sentenced to four years in prison for planning another attack, and had been on the French security services’ watch list, Darmanin said. He was also known for having psychiatric disorders, Darmanin added.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote on X that he was “shocked” by the attack. Britain’s foreign ministry said it was working with French authorities to support the British man.
France has been on high alert since raising its security threshold in October, when a Chechen-origin man with a knife killed a teacher in a school in northern France.
The attack in central Paris comes less than eight months before the French capital is due to host the Olympic Games and could raise questions about security at the global sporting event.
The city was planning an opening ceremony on the Seine river with the potential to attract as many as 600,000 spectators.
Paris police chief Laurent Nunez told BFM TV on Sunday that the terrorism threat was “permanent” and that the opening ceremony had been prepared with security measures taking into account a “high level” of terrorism threat.
“I send all my condolences to the family and loved ones of the German national who died … during the terrorist attack in Paris and think with emotion of the people currently injured and in care,” President Macron said on the social network platform X.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne wrote on X: “We will not give in to terrorism.”
Joseph S, 37, a supermarket manager who asked not to give his last name, witnessed the scene as he sat in a bar.
He heard screams and people shouting “help, help” as they ran. A man wielding an object attacked a man who had fallen down, and within 10 minutes the police arrived, he said.
The country has suffered several attacks by Islamist extremists, including the November 2015 suicide and gun attacks in Paris claimed by Islamic State in which 130 people were killed.
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There had been a relative lull in recent years, even as officials have warned that the threat remains.
But tensions have risen in France, home to large Jewish and Muslim populations, following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 and Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
In October, teacher Dominique Bernard was killed in the northern French town of Arras by a young radicalised Islamist from Russia’s Caucasus region.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
