A French soldier on anti-terrorist duties was stabbed in the neck Saturday in an attack that President Francois Hollande said could not "at this stage" be linked to the brutal murder this week of a military man in London.
The attacker fled the scene after stabbing the 23-year-old in the late afternoon in La Defense business district, which at weekends is packed with shoppers.
The local prosecutor's office said anti-terror investigators would handle the probe into the attack which was captured by surveillance cameras.
The soldier was in uniform and armed and was patrolling as part of France's Vigipirate anti-terrorist surveillance scheme that sees troops deployed at high-profile tourist, business and transport sites across the capital
The attacker, described by police as around 1.9 meters (six foot) tall, bearded and wearing a jersey and black trousers, approached his victim, stabbed him and then melted into the crowd without saying a word.
The soldier was with two colleagues on the patrol in a busy underground space that hosts shops and provides access to several underground train lines.
Hollande told reporters accompanying him on a trip to Ethiopia: "We still do not know the exact circumstances of the attack or the identity of the attacker, but we are looking at all options."
"I do not think that at this stage a link can be made" to the attack in London on Wednesday, he said.
That assault saw a soldier hacked to death on a London street by two men wielding knives and a cleaver who later launched into a tirade against British military involvement in Muslim countries.
Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian visited the wounded soldier in hospital and later told reporters that the man had been targeted because he was a soldier.
Le Drian, who said the soldier was in a stable condition, vowed to continue France's "implacable" fight against terrorism.
Police sources said the victim would survive the attack but gave no information on possible motivation for the assault.
Prosecutor Robert Gelli said the attacker struck the soldier from behind with a sharp metal object, but he did not confirm earlier reports that the weapon used was a box cutter.
In March last year, self-declared Islamist Mohamed Merah killed seven people in a shooting spree in and around the city of Toulouse. Three of them were French soldiers.
Hollande earlier this month said France was taking seriously a call by Al-Qaeda's north African wing for Muslims worldwide to launch attacks against the country's interests over its military operation in Mali, where French soldiers this year intervened to fight Islamist extremists.
Interior Minister Manuel Valls said Saturday that "there were elements, such as the sudden violence of the attack (on the soldier in Paris), that could lead one to think there is a form of comparison with what happened in London".
But he said in a television interview that investigators must be cautious and could not yet draw such conclusions.
In London, three more men were arrested on Saturday on suspicion of conspiracy to murder the soldier who was hacked to death in the street.
AFP
Sat May 25 2013
PRK KKB: PH kekal di KKB, rakyat tolak politik perkauman - Nazri
Kemenangan Pakatan Harapan (PH) dalam Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Kuala Kubu Baharu membuktikan rakyat menolak politik perkauman yang dibawa oleh Perikatan Nasional (PN).
PH pertahan kerusi, Pang Sock Tao menang majoriti 3,869 undi
Selepas 14 hari berkempen… mandat telah pun diberi kepada wakil rakyat yang akan menerajui Kuala Kubu Baharu.
Di mana Pilihan Raya Kecil DUN berkenaan menyaksikan ayam tambatan daripada Pakatan Harapan berjaya menambat hati pengundi di kawasan berkenaan….
Di mana Pilihan Raya Kecil DUN berkenaan menyaksikan ayam tambatan daripada Pakatan Harapan berjaya menambat hati pengundi di kawasan berkenaan….
Semangat kekitaan faktor kemenangan PH di Kuala Kubu Baharu
Presiden UMNO yang juga merangkap sebagai timbalan perdana menteri, Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi mengucapkan tahniah kepada Pang Sock Tao atas kemenangannya di Kuala Kubu Baharu pada Sabtu.
PM ucap tahniah atas kejayaan PH pertahan kemenangan
Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim merakamkan ucapan tahniah kepada Pakatan Harapan (PH) dan Kerajaan Perpaduan atas kemenangan calon DAP pada Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Kuala Kubu Baharu (KKB).
Saya wakil rakyat semua, tidak kira latar belakang politik - Pang
Pang Sock Tao akan bekerjasama dan bergerak sebagai satu pasukan untuk menyelesaikan masalah penduduk tanpa mengira latar belakang politik
PH pertahan Kuala Kubu Baharu, majoriti 3,869 undi
Pakatan Harapan (PH) menerusi calon mereka, Pang Sock Tao memenangi Pilihan Raya Kecil (PRK) Dewan Undangan Negeri (DUN) Kuala Kubu Baharu.
Sambutan 25 Tahun PKR berkonsep mesra rakyat, bertemu pemimpin lebih dekat
Kehadiran hampir 10,000 pengunjung memeriahkan acara Sambutan 25 Tahun PKR di Depot Sentul sejak pagi tadi.
Agenda AWANI Asia: Ke arah multipolarisasi yang adil dan teratur
Sejauh mana pentingnya multipolarisasi yang adil dan teratur dalam senario geopolitik yang tidak menentu? Bagaimana pendekatan ini memacu pembangunan bersama dan merungkai cabaran yang bersifat global? Diskusi dan analisis Agenda Awani Asia 9:00 malam ini.
Kemenangan wakil Kerajaan Perpaduan bukti kerjasama erat, dapat kepercayaan rakyat - Loke
Setiausaha Agung DAP Anthony Loke berkata, Pang berjaya mempertahan kerusi milik DAP itu dengan majoriti yang meyakinkan dan selesa.
Usaha kesan Hawari diteruskan dengan ganjaran AS$5,000
Ganjaran itu akan diberikan kepada sherpa atau individu khususnya yang berada di Everest pada musim mendaki tahun ini.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah antara yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Pasti susah untuk tidur, kata Mbappe selepas gagal jaring penalti
Kylian Mbappe memohon maaf atas kegagalannya dalam penentuan sepakan penalti yang mengakibatkan Perancis tersingkir daripada Euro 2020 di tangan Switzerland awal pagi tadi dengan pemain bintang itu.
Lambakan lebih 20 juta topeng muka kain di Perancis
Hari ini, apabila kes mula terkawal, bekalan topeng muka kain melebihi permintaan di Perancis.
"Terima kasih atas bantuan dan sokongan anda" - Keluarga Nora Anne
Keluarga Nora Anne Quoirin selain daripada meramkan ucapan penghargaan dan terima kasih kepada semua pihak yang bekerja keras mencari remaja yang hilang itu sejak dilaporkan 4 Ogos lalu.
The Reds berkenduri gol, Real Madrid tak cukup selesa
Sadio Mane cipta hatrik membelasah Porto dengan kemenangan 5-0.
Warga emas mabuk, pusing bulatan 17 kali sebelum ditahan polis
Lelaki warga Perancis berusia 73 tahun itu mendakwa tidak mendengar siren polis yang memintanya memberhentikan kenderaan.
Macron hadiahkan kuda kepada Presiden China
Ketibaan Presiden Perancis, Emmanuel Macron dan isteri, Brigitte ke Beijing disambut mesra rakan sejawatnya, Presiden China, Xi Jin Ping pada Selasa.
Penyanyi pop Perancis, France Gall meninggal dunia
Gall ketika di zamannya pernah memenangi pertandingan Lagu Eurovision sebelum menghasilkan hits dan menjual berjuta-juta album
MH370: Kerajaan akan bincang dengan China, Australia berhubung kotak hitam
Perbincangan itu membuktikan kerajaan akan terus melakukan apa sahaja termampu bagi menyiasat tragedi yang menimpa pesawat malang itu.