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A CCTV image shows the Orly airport attacker dead on the floor moments after he was shot by security forces.

The man was killed after he stole a soldier's firearm and took refuge in a shop around an hour after he wounded a police officer in an earlier shooting.

An image taken from CCTV footage shows him sprawled on the floor in front of a Chez Paul bakery in the airport's south terminal, French media reported.

Police sources told Reuters he was a "radicalised Muslim known to intelligence services".

A spokesman for the French Interior Ministry told reporters that the man wrestled the gun away from the soldier and was killed by security forces moments later.

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Authorities say it was the same man who shot a police officer in Paris' northern outskirts earlier Saturday morning.

(Image: Reuters) (Image: Reuters) (Image: AFP) (Image: Twitter) (Image: Reuters)

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During the ensuing operation anti-terror police evacuated Orly and did a sweep of the airport in search of potential accomplices or explosives.

No explosives were found on the man's body or elsewhere inside the airport.

All flights in an out of Orly - which is served by airlines including British Airways and easyJet - were suspended as the airport was shut down and roads were blocked.

Terrified passengers said they heard gunshots in Orly's south terminal at about 8.30am and were told to flee.

There were around 3,000 people inside the airport, but one else was injured, said a spokesman for the Interior Ministry.

Eyewitnesses described scenes of terror and panic as the dramatic incident unfolded in the packed airport.

(Image: Reuters) (Image: Reuters) (Image: AFP) (Image: AFP) (Image: AFP)

Passenger Franck Lecam, 54, told Le Parisien : "We were waiting in line for a flight to Tel Aviv when we heard three or four gunshots nearby. The whole airport was evacuated.

"There are policemen, emergency workers and soldiers everywhere in all directions."

He said a security official at the airport told him the incident occurred near check-in desks where Turkish Airlines flights were scheduled.

The attack occurred as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are making an official visit to France. On Saturday they were due to meet with victims and first responders from the deadly 2015 terror attacks in Paris.

(Image: AFP) (Image: AFP)

Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet said: "The man succeeded in seizing the weapon of a soldier.

"He was quickly neutralised by the security forces."

A police spokesman wrote on Twitter : "Ongoing police operation. Do not cross the security perimeter, follow the instructions."

An airport official added: "Ongoing special operation by the Police. Please follow their instructions. Do not come to the airport."

(Image: Twitter)

(Image: Twitter) (Image: Twitter)

All flights to and from Orly - the second busiest airport in France - were suspended, with arrivals being diverted to Charles de Gaulle airport or other airports.

Passengers who were scheduled to catch flights later in the day were told to stay away from the airport, as roads leading to the terminals were blocked.

In the incident in Stains, in Paris' northern outskirts, a man in a Clio car shot at police when three officers stopped a car at about 7am.

He produced his identity papers and then pulled out a gun and opened fire. A female officer reportedly suffered a head wound but her injuries were not considered to be life-threatening.

(Image: Twitter)

(Image: Twitter) (Image: Twitter)

(Image: Twitter)

Police later found the Clio car abandoned in Vitry-sur-Seine, in Paris' south-eastern suburbs, with a bloody T-shirt inside, sources told Le Parisien.

The man then stole a Citroen Picasso car and drove to Orly airport, where that vehicle was found abandoned in a car park.

France has been under a state of emergency following a series of deadly terror attacks across the country. Soldiers stationed at Orly are taking part in Operation Sentinel.

The military operation has been in place since a terror attack on the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in January 2015.

It was reinforced followed the extremist attacks in Paris in November 2015 and an attack in Nice in the French Riviera in June last year.

Uniformed soldiers carrying assault rifles have become a common sight at French airports and major tourist sights, including the Eiffel Tower, as the country remains under a significant threat of attack.

More than 7,500 soldiers are currently stationed around the country.