PARIS — A police officer was wounded in a knife assault in Paris on Thursday within the high-end Champs-Elysees neighborhood and the assailant was shot and injured, authorities stated, simply days earlier than the opening ceremony of the Summer time Olympics.
Paris police chief Laurent Nunez stated the assault didn’t seem linked to the Olympics and no terrorist motive was suspected.
French Inside Minister Gerald Darmanin posted on X that the assault occurred within the eighth arrondissement of Paris whereas police have been “responding to a name from officers securing a retailer.”
Talking in entrance of the flagship Louis Vuitton retailer on the Champs-Elysees after the stabbing, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez stated the assailant ‘’pulled out a knife and threatened them (the officers), tried to stab them a number of instances and succeeded in stabbing.”
He defended the police response as “completely proportionate. They have been going through an assailant who was threatening their lives.”
The situation of the officer wasn’t instantly recognized. The assailant, a 27-year-old foreigner with residency papers, was severely injured, Nunez stated.
Darmanin stated the attacker was ‘’neutralized.” An official with data of the police case stated the assailant was nonetheless alive and that officers prevented him from taking additional motion. The official spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of he wasn’t allowed to reveal particulars concerning the case.
The world was thronging with vacationers and Parisians when the assault occurred across the nook from the Louis Vuitton boutique. Some took images as police cordoned off the realm, whereas others continued their eating in close by sidewalk cafes.
Safety brokers at Louis Vuitton contacted police after noticing “suspicious conduct” by a person exterior the shop, in response to a police official. The shop typically has lengthy traces exterior and is among the many greatest attracts on an avenue filled with luxurious boutiques. The assault occurred on a avenue close by, not on the Champs-Elysees itself.
Related Press journalists noticed police reinforcements speeding in after the stabbing. At a luxurious resort close by, company arriving in a taxi needed to go underneath police tape to enter their resort, as a porter wheeled their baggage underneath the cordon.
Thursday’s knife assault comes simply days after a person stabbed and wounded a French soldier patrolling Paris on Monday exterior the Gare de l’Est practice station in jap Paris. The person was taken to a psychiatric hospital, in response to French prosecutors.
France is underneath its highest safety alert earlier than the beginning of the Paris Video games on July 26. Paris police imposed strict new safety measures within the heart of city beginning Thursday to organize for the distinctive opening ceremony, which will likely be held within the open all alongside the Seine River as an alternative of in a closed stadium.
Darmanin is staying on in a caretaker function on the inside ministry till a brand new authorities is fashioned within the wake of a legislative election earlier this month.
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David Goldman and Kwiyeon Ha contributed to this report.
