A terror investigation has been launched in Paris after a man with a blade tried to force his way into the Eiffel Tower.

A judicial official said a man holding a knife shouted "Allahu akbar" - the Arabic phrase for "God is great" - and tried to access a secure zone during Saturday night's incident.

The suspect told police he wanted to attack a solider and had been in contact with an Islamic State jihadist, the AFP news agency reported.

He quickly surrendered when he was surrounded by security forces. The tower was briefly evacuated but there were no injuries.

The knifeman was wearing a Paris Saint-Germain shirt and at the time of the alert the tower was lit up with the team's colours.


A security source said the suspect had been in a psychiatric hospital for several months and was granted temporary permission to leave care from 4-6 August.

Eiffel Tower reopened to tourists as usual on Sunday morning.

Paris remains on alert following a series of attacks since 2015.