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| Assailant Near Louvre Is Shot by French Soldier | Assailant Near Louvre Is Shot by French Soldier |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| PARIS — A man with a large knife was shot by a French soldier on Friday after he lunged at four soldiers, shouting “God is great” in Arabic near the Louvre Museum in Paris, the police said, immediately raising tensions in a country that has been the site of several terrorist attacks in the past two years. | PARIS — A man with a large knife was shot by a French soldier on Friday after he lunged at four soldiers, shouting “God is great” in Arabic near the Louvre Museum in Paris, the police said, immediately raising tensions in a country that has been the site of several terrorist attacks in the past two years. |
| The Paris police chief, Michel Cadot, said that the man, who was seriously wounded, had been carrying two backpacks but that there was no indication they had contained explosives. The Paris prosecutor’s office opened a terrorism investigation, but the authorities said the suspect’s motives were unclear. | |
| The suspect was shot five times while in the stairway that connects the Carrousel du Louvre shopping center with the Tuileries Gardens above, but he did not reach the typically crowded mall itself, nor the main entrance of the museum. One soldier has a minor scalp injury. | The suspect was shot five times while in the stairway that connects the Carrousel du Louvre shopping center with the Tuileries Gardens above, but he did not reach the typically crowded mall itself, nor the main entrance of the museum. One soldier has a minor scalp injury. |
| France has been under a state of emergency for more than a year, since attacks in and around the city in November 2015 left 130 people dead, and it has since been hit by several deadly assaults. | France has been under a state of emergency for more than a year, since attacks in and around the city in November 2015 left 130 people dead, and it has since been hit by several deadly assaults. |
| Although the effectiveness of deploying soldiers alongside police officers and gendarmes to protect civilians has been questioned — about 10,000 soldiers around the country now patrol — their presence is an increasingly accepted feature of the country’s efforts to confront the terrorist threat. | |
| President Trump, in a post on Twitter, said: “A new radical Islamic terrorist has just attacked in Louvre Museum in Paris. Tourists were locked down. France on edge again. GET SMART U.S.” But there was no publicly available information to support his claim about the assailant. | |
| The authorities cordoned off the large central courtyard of the Louvre, which has long been considered a possible target of extremists, and the museum was put under tight security. | The authorities cordoned off the large central courtyard of the Louvre, which has long been considered a possible target of extremists, and the museum was put under tight security. |
| Photographs posted on Twitter showed visitors to the museum sitting on the floor, checking their smartphones, and then leaving after the authorities had brought the situation under control. | Photographs posted on Twitter showed visitors to the museum sitting on the floor, checking their smartphones, and then leaving after the authorities had brought the situation under control. |
| According to the French Interior Ministry, about 250 visitors were in the museum at the time of the attack — in the morning, when the venue is less crowded. It also draws far fewer visitors in the winter, low season for tourism, than in the summer. | According to the French Interior Ministry, about 250 visitors were in the museum at the time of the attack — in the morning, when the venue is less crowded. It also draws far fewer visitors in the winter, low season for tourism, than in the summer. |
| Those who were inside the museum were moved to secure areas, the police chief said, and no one else was allowed to enter. The roughly 1,000 people who were inside the blocked-off area were being let out around midday. | Those who were inside the museum were moved to secure areas, the police chief said, and no one else was allowed to enter. The roughly 1,000 people who were inside the blocked-off area were being let out around midday. |
| A second person has been taken into custody, said Pierre-Henry Brandet, an Interior Ministry spokesman, but that person’s connection to the events at the Louvre is unclear. | A second person has been taken into custody, said Pierre-Henry Brandet, an Interior Ministry spokesman, but that person’s connection to the events at the Louvre is unclear. |
| As the tensions of the morning eased, the main courtyard that surrounds the glass pyramid designed by I. M. Pei, which anchors the museum’s main entrance, was still empty because the police had sealed it off. | As the tensions of the morning eased, the main courtyard that surrounds the glass pyramid designed by I. M. Pei, which anchors the museum’s main entrance, was still empty because the police had sealed it off. |
| The police later reduced the size of the security perimeter, and the museum was expected to reopen later in the day. | The police later reduced the size of the security perimeter, and the museum was expected to reopen later in the day. |
| The Rue de Rivoli, which runs along the northeast side of the museum and is lined with shops and restaurants catering to tourists and occupying centuries-old arcaded buildings, remained at least partly open to pedestrian traffic, although other streets were blocked off. | The Rue de Rivoli, which runs along the northeast side of the museum and is lined with shops and restaurants catering to tourists and occupying centuries-old arcaded buildings, remained at least partly open to pedestrian traffic, although other streets were blocked off. |
| Police officers and soldiers were stationed at street corners in the area while tourists walked around, seemingly unconcerned — if curious — about what had happened, checking their phones, taking photographs and asking journalists for information. | Police officers and soldiers were stationed at street corners in the area while tourists walked around, seemingly unconcerned — if curious — about what had happened, checking their phones, taking photographs and asking journalists for information. |
| Marie-Agnès Tiberghien, 69, who lives in Paris, said that she had not heard gunfire while she and about 200 others were attending a class on the Italian Renaissance nearby, but that the threat had soon became apparent. | Marie-Agnès Tiberghien, 69, who lives in Paris, said that she had not heard gunfire while she and about 200 others were attending a class on the Italian Renaissance nearby, but that the threat had soon became apparent. |
| After an alarm sounded, staff members entered the conference room where the class was being held and told people to stay where they were, she said. | After an alarm sounded, staff members entered the conference room where the class was being held and told people to stay where they were, she said. |
| “Someone came to inform us every 15 minutes, so that we wouldn’t panic,” she said, adding that staff members and the police had been “very reassuring.” | “Someone came to inform us every 15 minutes, so that we wouldn’t panic,” she said, adding that staff members and the police had been “very reassuring.” |
| Ms. Tiberghien and others left the building around 1 p.m., but only after they had been asked to open their coats and bags for inspection and to put their hands in the air. | |
| France has been on edge because of the serious threat posed by terrorism, most notably the coordinated assaults in November 2015. In June, an off-duty police officer and his companion were stabbed to death by a man who then filmed himself claiming allegiance to the Islamic State, broadcasting the video on Facebook. | France has been on edge because of the serious threat posed by terrorism, most notably the coordinated assaults in November 2015. In June, an off-duty police officer and his companion were stabbed to death by a man who then filmed himself claiming allegiance to the Islamic State, broadcasting the video on Facebook. |
| On July 14, a man driving a truck plowed into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in the southern city of Nice, killing 86. Twelve days later, two men burst into a church during morning Mass in the northern town of St.-Étienne-du-Rouvray and slaughtered a priest, Jacques Hamel. | On July 14, a man driving a truck plowed into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in the southern city of Nice, killing 86. Twelve days later, two men burst into a church during morning Mass in the northern town of St.-Étienne-du-Rouvray and slaughtered a priest, Jacques Hamel. |
| Many of the assailants have said they were inspired by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, but several had links to a wider network of terrorists. | Many of the assailants have said they were inspired by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, but several had links to a wider network of terrorists. |
| Over the summer, most notably during the Euro 2016 soccer championship, France heightened security measures and conducted raids of possible terrorist cells. | Over the summer, most notably during the Euro 2016 soccer championship, France heightened security measures and conducted raids of possible terrorist cells. |
| Some of the suspects were French citizens, some showed no sign of radicalization, and women have emerged among their ranks. | Some of the suspects were French citizens, some showed no sign of radicalization, and women have emerged among their ranks. |
| In November, seven men who the authorities said were planning terrorist attacks were arrested in the eastern city of Strasbourg and the southern port city of Marseille. | In November, seven men who the authorities said were planning terrorist attacks were arrested in the eastern city of Strasbourg and the southern port city of Marseille. |
| With presidential elections scheduled in a few months, and more than two years after the attacks on the Paris offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, questions of how to deal with terrorism and security remain a source of tension in France. | With presidential elections scheduled in a few months, and more than two years after the attacks on the Paris offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, questions of how to deal with terrorism and security remain a source of tension in France. |