A knifeman in France shouted “Allahu akbar” as he sliced a police officer’s throat before being restrained.
The incident, which took place on Monday, saw two police officers, one of whom was female, attacked by the knife whilst trying to restrain the man, according to local reports.
The officers were patrolling Rue d’Austerlitz in the Wilson district of Toulouse when a man tried to get the officers' attention before pulling a knife on them, French media reported.
The officers fought to restrain the man using telescopic batons, police confirmed.
After he dropped the first knife, the attacker then pulled out two subsequent knives before eventually being restrained.
During the altercation, two officers were injured.
One required stitches after the attacker sliced the officer’s neck open, with the female officer stabbed three times; however, her bulletproof vest protected her from serious injuries.
Local police reported that the alleged attacker shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the attack.
French municipal politician Emilion Esnault told La Dépêche that the officers had “come within a hair’s breadth of the worst”.
A heavy police presence remained in the area following the attack.
It comes as an Australian woman in Paris spoke on being “almost trafficked” whilst on holiday in France.
Djanaya Hampton, from Perth, had travelled to the French capital in May last year for a fortnight-long trip marking her 29th birthday.
She had originally planned to visit Africa, but switched destinations after her chosen accommodation was being renovated.
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After spending her first days visiting tourist attractions including Disneyland Paris, Ms Hampton reserved the Eiffel Tower for the evening before her birthday. She settled in for a picnic, waiting for the landmark's lights to illuminate.
"I was sitting there for ages because I didn't realise the sun doesn't go down for so long," she told news.com.au.
Around 8pm, two young men sat beside her, with one repeatedly glancing over and smiling.
The man, wearing designer clothes, initially addressed her in French before switching to English.
He began pressing her with questions about whether she was alone, who she was travelling with, and whether she had a boyfriend.
"It was so weird, it felt like something out of [the movie] Taken. But I told myself it was all in my head," she said.
After Ms Hampton declined his persistent invitations to a house party, the man grabbed her for an unwanted photograph while his companion snapped pictures on his phone.
The man walked to the base of the Eiffel Tower, handed money to a local vendor and pointed directly at her.
"That's when my heart sank. I wasn't feeling cold before, but suddenly I was freezing," she recalled.
Ms Hampton FaceTimed her best friend in Perth, who told her to alight at the next stop.
She got off at Notre Dame, but the entire group followed, positioning themselves around her at various points on the platform.
Trapped and in tears, she was eventually approached by a Spanish-speaking man she had earlier asked for help.
Her friend communicated with him over the phone and he turned out to be a security guard.
"He said for to me to stay close or they will grab me," Ms Hampton recounted.
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