Earlier in the day, servicemen patrolling the Carrousel du Louvre shopping center opened fire against a machete-wielding man who tried to enter the museum's shopping area and attacked security forces, wounding one of the soldiers. According to local police, the attacker shouted "Allah Akbar," and was reportedly injured.
French Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said that the attack was "of a terrorist nature." A woman was also arrested at the scene, yet it was not clear whether she was involved, according to the French Interior Ministry.
The attack near Louvre occurred exactly two years after a similar incident in Nice on February 3, 2015, when a man attacked soldiers guarding a Jewish cultural center. As a result, one soldier got deep cuts on his cheek, the other was shot in the arm. The attacker was arrested on the spot.
