Knifeman dead after fatal attack in central Paris

The attack took place near the city's main opera house in an area full of  bars, restaurants and theatres which were brimming on a weekend night.

The man attacked five people with a knife, one of whom died, police said. 

Two were in serious condition and all the victims are in hospital.  

Interior Minister Gerard Collomb hailed in a tweet the “sang-froid and reaction of the police who neutralised the attacker.”

A large area was cordoned-off where police, fire and rescue vehicles  converged. 

Shocked tourists and residents looked on from behind the security perimeter.

“I was on the cafe terrace, I heard three, four shots, it happened very  fast,” said 47-year-old Gloria.

“Then the bartenders told us to come inside very quickly. Then I went out to see what was going on, and then I saw a man on the ground,” she added.

Police said the attacker's motives were still unknown.

A string of jihadist attacks have claimed the lives of over 245 people around France in the past three years.

Photo: AFP