Counter-terrorism probe launched into Eiffel Tower knifeman

French prosecutors opened on Sunday counter-terrorism investigations into an incident in which a man armed with a knife was arrested and detained while trying to force entry into a security barrage at the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

According to the website of the newspaper "Le Parisien", the man carrying a knife was arrested while trying to force entry into one of the security checks on the Eiffel Tower on Saturday around 11:30 pm local time, shouting "Allah Akbar" when he acted.

The man, a Frenchman born in 1998 in Mauritania living in the Val-d'Oise (northern suburbs of Paris), was "very quickly mastered and arrested" without causing any injuries, the report said.

Investigations have been opened to the Anti-Terrorist Section of the Criminal Brigade (SAT) and to the Directorate General of Internal Security (DGSI) and the charges are "terrorist criminal association for the commission of crimes of genocide, attacks on persons" and "attempted assassination of persons holding public authority in connection with a terrorist enterprise", added the report.

According to the operating company of the Eiffel Tower (SETE), "the local police forces carried out a complete verification of the site and asked for its evacuation around 00:30". On Sunday morning, the Eiffel Tower opened on its usual schedule.

Security source said the man wanted to harm soldiers.