Man Arrested After Walking Around Central Paris With a Machete, Police Say

A series of disturbing violent acts rocked France last month, including the murder of French teacher on 16 October in Paris outskirts by an Islamist teen and the deadly attack in a Catholic cathedral in Nice on 29 October, which took away three lives.

Police have arrested a man in his hotel room after he had been seen walking around central Paris earlier on Tuesday wielding a machete, a police spokesman said.

At around 11:30 am several bystanders reported "a man armed with a machete in the corridors of the Metro at Père-Lachaise station", according to the spokesman.

No victims have been reported so far and the matter is under investigation, he added.

"So far, there have not been any victims. The investigation is ongoing."

Aucun passant ne peut se rendre dans la rue, les commerçants sont confinés dans leurs boutiques.
Via @actufrparis ➡️https://t.co/RMzR74wOcj pic.twitter.com/PmrCrIBkeh

— Marie-Amélie Marchal (@marieam_marchal) November 3, 2020

According to reports, the Chemin-Vert street was closed to traffic by the police. Other officers took up positions on the roof of a building a few dozen metres from the Metro station.

The area was reopened for traffic around 12:30 p.m.