Armed man arrested outside Sarkozy office

A French police official said a man carrying a knife was arrested today trying to enter the grounds of the presidential palace.

An Associated Press photographer witnessed guards wrestling the man to the ground at the main entrance to the Elysee, where President Nicolas Sarkozy works.

The official said the man was armed with a knife. He was not authorised to speak publicly about the arrest, which is thought to have taken place at approximately 11.40am Irish time.

The man is being held at a police station in Paris’s 8th district where the Elysee Palace is located.

Sarkozy was meeting with Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic of Montenegro at the time.