PANIC erupted at Paris's Gard du Nord train station after a man wielding a knife was arrested by armed cops.

French rail operator SNCF said a man had been arrested after the incident at the Eurostar terminal, which comes just two days after a policeman was shot and killed in a terror attack on the Champs-Elysee.

4 Video footage showed the man being arrested on the ground

4 Another video appears to show armed cops surrounding the man during the incident at Paris's Eurostar terminal

4 The incident caused panic at the station in Paris Credit: @jenkinau

Tensions are running high in the French capital ahead of tomorrow's election, with experts saying the attack - claimed by ISIS - could have been an attempt to swing favour towards far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen.

Video footage believed to be of the incident shows a man lying on his front on the floor, with one gendarme appearing to handcuff him while another points a gun.

People carrying luggage are seen hurrying past in the footage, shared on social media, before armed cops clear the area, telling people to move.

A French police source told Associated Press a man carrying a knife walked into the station and was flagged to cops, who arrested him immediately.

Armed police arrest man at Gare du Nord in last half hour #Paris pic.twitter.com/sRyfgFAhNw — Hannah Bayman (@hannahbayman) April 22, 2017

Passengers flee Gare du Nord in Paris as police arrest man #Paris pic.twitter.com/twiejWOAYc — Hannah Bayman (@hannahbayman) April 22, 2017

The SNCF spokesman told news agencies the man approached gendarmes, who were patrolling the station.

He was ordered to lie on the ground before being arrested.

French news channel BFMTV reported that the man had a knife in his hand, but posed no resistance to police.

The channel said a police source told them he was carrying the knife because he was "afraid for his life".

Reports on social media say passengers were told to lie on the floor in the terrifying incident.

Passengers who just came around are saying police were telling people to lie down on the floor #garedunord #paris — Natsuko Waki (@NatsukoWaki) April 22, 2017

The scene led panic among passengers who tried to flee the scene, a witness told Reuters.

Nobody was injured in the incident, but police said the arrest caused "panic" as travellers abandoned their luggage in the middle of the station.

Trains have been delayed in and out of the mainline transport hub.

Passengers on the Eurostar platform were held at the gates after the incident.

Passengers held on Eurostar platform at Gare du Nord after police arrest a man #Paris pic.twitter.com/kfLaK9fNmB — Hannah Bayman (@hannahbayman) April 22, 2017

4 Troops were seen guarding gates at the station after the incident this afternoon Credit: roundtable.news

The Gare de Nord is one of the French capital's main transit hubs, serving the city's metro, suburban trains as well as intercity and high-speed trains like the Eurostar from London.

One picture, shared by roundtable.news, showed troops with machine guns guarding platforms at the station.

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