One dead, two injured after man upset over Gaza war attacks tourists near Eiffel Tower with hammer, knife

One person was dead and two others were injured after a man attacked tourists near the Eiffel Tower on Saturday night (Dec 2). Addressing a press conference, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the police quickly arrested the attacker, a 26-year-old French national, using a Taser stun gun.

The attack happened at around 19.00 GMT when the man attacked a tourist couple with a knife on the Quai de Grenelle, mortally wounding a German national.

The man was then chased by the police and attacked two other people with a hammer before he was arrested. 

The suspect had shouted out "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) and told police he was upset because "so many Muslims are dying in Afghanistan and Palestine" and was also upset about the Gaza situation, Interior Minister Darmanin said.

He added that the 26-year-old had been sentenced to four years in prison in 2016 for planning another attack was on the French security services' watch list, and was also known for having psychiatric disorders.

The anti-terrorism prosecutor's office said it was in charge of the investigation. French President Emmanuel Macron condoled the death of the German national, and thanked security forces for their quick arrest of the attacker and said that justice should be served in the name of the citizens.

This incident in France came less than eight months before Paris was set to host the Olympics and could raise questions about security at the event. 

The country has suffered several attacks by extremists, including the November 2015 suicide and gun attacks in Paris claimed by the Islamic State group in which 130 people were killed. 

There has been a relative lull in recent years, but tensions again rose following Hamas's attack on Israel on Oct 7 and Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

(With inputs from agencies)