One person died and another was injured after an assailant attacked passersby in central Paris near the Eiffel Tower, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has said on social media.
"The police have just courageously arrested an assailant attacking passersby in Paris, around the Quai de Grenelle. The Paris fire brigade treated one deceased person and one injured person. Please avoid the area," Mr Darmanin posted on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
"The assailant was neutralised very quickly by police. We tried to save the life of this man. It's a man who died and they (the people who were attacked) were tourists," Dr Patrick Pelloux told BFM TV.
BFM, citing police, said the man who died was of German nationality and that the assailant's weapon was a hammer.
The incident in central Paris occurred less than eight months before the French capital hosts the Olympic Games and could raise questions about security at the global sporting event.
Paris plans an unprecedented opening ceremony on the Seine river that may draw as many as 600,000 spectators.
The anti-terrorism prosecutor's office said it had not yet been put in charge of an investigation.
Police arrest person of interest in Paris attack.