French police shoot knife-wielding man outside Louvre museum

A man has been shot outside the Louvre museum in Paris after reportedly attempting a knife attack on French soldiers in the area, in an incident which prime minister Bernard Cazenueve has called a "terrorist" attack.

The wounded man was carrying two bags during the attempted attack on Friday, as he tried to enter one of the world's most visited museums.

Paris police spokesperson Michel Cadot said that the man was armed with a machete and shouted "Allahu Akbar", before being shot several times.

"We are dealing with an attack from an individual who was clearly aggressive and represented a direct threat, and whose comments lead us to believe that he wished to carry out a terrorist incident," Codot said.

"There was also a second individual who was behaving suspiciously, who has also been detained, but for now there does not appear to be a link between that individual and the attack."

The identity and nationality of the assailant is unknown as of yet.

France has been particularly affected by the increase in terrorist attacks on the continent in recent years, with over 230 people dying as a result of attacks from the Islamic State group in areas such as Paris and Nice.

Foreign tourism in the country had been showing signs of recovery since those attacks however, having experienced a dip in the period following the spate of incidents.