Knife attacker injures French soldier patrolling Paris ahead of the Olympics

(Patria) - A French soldier was stabbed on Monday in front of a major train station in Paris, and the attacker was arrested, officials said, as the city was on high security alert eleven days before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games, AP reported.

A French military official said the soldier was hospitalized but not in life-threatening condition, and that the motive for the attack was being investigated. The official was not authorized to be publicly named.

Authorities do not suspect terrorism as a motive at this stage, according to the state anti-terrorism prosecutor's office.

The soldier was among thousands of others serving in France's domestic security Sentinelle force, created to guard prominent French locations after a series of deadly attacks by Islamic extremists in 2015. Sentinelle soldiers have been targeted in the past.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced on social network X that the soldier was patrolling at the Gare de l’Est train station in eastern Paris and that the attacker had been apprehended.

Paris is deploying around 30,000 police officers daily for the Olympic Games, which run from July 26 to August 11, with up to 45,000 for the opening ceremony on the Seine River. Around 18,000 soldiers are also assisting in securing the sporting event.