Police officer wounded in Paris knife attack

Police officers go to the scene after a stabbing near the Champs-Elysees (David Goldman/AP)

A police officer was wounded in a knife attack in Paris on Thursday in the Champs-Elysees neighbourhood, and the attacker was immediately “neutralised”, authorities said, just days before the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics.

French interior minister Gerald Darmanin said the attack happened in the 8th arrondissement of Paris while police were “responding to a call from officers securing a store”.

“The perpetrator was immediately neutralised by police officers,” he tweeted, expressing his “unwavering support” to the victim.

Speaking in front of the flagship Louis Vuitton store on the Champs-Elysees, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said the attacker “pulled out a knife and threatened them (the officers), tried to stab them multiple times and succeeded in stabbing”.

He defended the police response as “totally proportionate. They were facing a an assailant who was threatening their lives”.

The condition of the officer was not known.

Police officers and rescue workers gather near the Champs-Elysees (David Goldman/AP)

An official said the attacker was still alive and that officers prevented him from taking further action.

The attack comes just days after a man stabbed and wounded a French soldier patrolling on Monday outside the Gare de l’Est train station in eastern Paris.

The man was taken to a psychiatric hospital, according to French prosecutors.

The city has been under a high security alert before the start of the Paris Games on July 26.

Mr Darmanin is staying on in a caretaker role at the interior ministry until a new government is formed in the wake of a legislative election earlier this month.