Man shot dead by police after knife attack at Arc de Triomphe in Paris
A knife-wielding man attacked gendarmes during the daily flame-lighting ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe on Friday evening and was fatally shot by officers.
16 hrs ago
A man armed with a knife was shot dead by police at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on Friday evening after he attacked officers during a ceremony, authorities said.
The incident occurred around 6 p.m. local time at the monument, where gendarmes were participating in the daily ceremony to rekindle the flame at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. According to the French anti-terrorism prosecutor's office, the man attacked a gendarme with a knife and scissors. One of the officers responded by opening fire to neutralize the attacker.
The suspect, identified as Brahim Bahir, 47, a French national, was shot multiple times and taken to hospital in critical condition. He died from his injuries later that evening at Georges Pompidou Hospital.
The gendarme who was initially attacked was not injured, as the knife blade struck his raincoat at the neck rather than his body, authorities said. One source indicated the officer had been slightly injured before another officer opened fire.
Bahir was registered as a resident of Aulnay-sous-Bois in the northern Paris suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis and was known to authorities. According to investigators, he had been flagged as a radicalization risk and was subject to supervised release. He was required to report daily to a police station in his neighborhood.
Bahir had a prior criminal record in Belgium. In 2013, he was sentenced to 17 years in prison in Belgium for stabbing two police officers at Molenbeek metro station in Brussels. He was transferred to France on January 27, 2015, following a decision by the Brussels court. After serving his sentence, he was released on December 24, 2025, under a supervised release order.
During the attack, the man reportedly shouted statements to the officers, including "Our women and children should not have died. We will see who triumphs at the Arc de Triomphe," according to local media reports.
France's national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office took charge of the investigation. President Emmanuel Macron, who was in Germany attending a conference, characterized the incident as a terrorist attack in a social media post. "At the Arc de Triomphe, this evening, while the Flame was being rekindled, a terrorist attack targeted the Republican Guard," Macron wrote. "In the face of Islamic terrorism, the republican flame will always remain lit." He also praised the response of police and military personnel, stating they "put an end to the attack and prevented the worst."