Paris attack leaves German tourist dead, two hurt, near Eiffel Tower

AFP

A German tourist died and two other people, including a British citizen, were hurt after an attack by a man armed with a knife and a hammer near the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Saturday, in what President Emmanuel Macron described as "a terrorist attack".

Police quickly arrested the 26-year-old man, a French national, after subduing him with a Taser stun gun, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters on Saturday.

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, the minister said.

The man attacked a tourist couple at around 1900 GMT (23:00 UAE time) with a knife on the Quai de Grenelle, a few feet away from the Eiffel Tower, mortally wounding the German national.

He was then chased by police and attacked two other people, before being arrested.

"We are supporting a British man who was injured in Paris and are in contact with the local authorities,” a spokesperson for the British foreign ministry said.

French anti-terrorism prosecutors are leading an investigation into the incident.

"I send all my condolences to the family and loved ones of the German national who died this evening 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 expressed defiance in the face of such attacks, saying on X: "We will not give in to terrorism."

More from International News

  • Macron appoints new Prime Minister amid political crisis

    French President Emmanuel Macron has named Francois Bayrou his third prime minister of 2024, tasking the veteran centrist with steering the country out of its second major political crisis in the last six months.

  • Blinken meets Erdogan over clashes in Syria

    US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Turkey on Thursday for talks focused on establishing stability in Syria after clashes between forces backed by the US and Turkey erupted in the north.

  • Israel kills at least 66 Palestinians in Gaza

    An Israeli strike killed at least 30 Palestinians and wounded 50 others who were sheltering in a post office in central Gaza Strip, bringing the death toll on Thursday in the enclave to 66. 

  • Israel, Palestinians explore Gaza truce with US envoy

    Israelis and Palestinians are signalling new efforts to forge a ceasefire deal, even a limited one, for the first time in a year that would pause the fighting in Gaza and return to Israel some of the hostages still held in the Palestinian enclave.

  • Biden pardons 39, commutes sentences of 1,500 others

    Outgoing US President Joe Biden said on Thursday he was pardoning 39 people convicted of non-violent crimes and commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 others who were serving long prison terms.

On Virgin Radio today

  • The Night Show with Jacob Cummings

    7:00pm - 10:00pm

    End the day with Virgin Radio turned loud.

  • Scott Forshaw

    10:00pm - 1:00am

    The Virgin Radio Weekend with Scott Forshaw

Trending on Virgin Radio