The man who stabbed a French police chief outside his home reportedly broadcast the attack live on Facebook.

The attacker, who has been named in unconfirmed reports as Larossi Abballa, was given a prison sentence in 2013 for jihadi activities.

He reportedly shouted "Allahu Akbar" as he stabbed a policeman nine times in the stomach before holding the officer's wife and three-year-old son hostage in their home in the Paris suburb of Magnanville.

When negotiations failed, an armed police unit stormed the house and shot him dead. The chief's wife was found dead but their child was rescued unharmed.

It has also emerged the killer broadcast the attack live on Facebook, a source close to the investigation told CNN.

During the live broadcast, Abballa was allegedly shown to consider what to do about the couple's son, according to French jihad expert David Thomson.

The attack has been claimed by Isis, according to the website of the Amaq agency.

If that link is confirmed, it would be the first militant strike on French soil since the government imposed a state of emergency after the Paris attacks in November that killed 130 people.

Police vehicles at the scene near where a French police commander was stabbed to death in front of his home in the Paris suburb of Magnanville (Reuters)

The 25-year-old attacker was being monitored by security and anti-terrorist services after he received a three-year prison sentence for helping Islamist militants go to Pakistan, police and government sources said.

After an emergency cabinet meeting chaired by President Francois Hollande, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told reporters: "An appalling terrorist act was committed yesterday in Magnanville by an individual who attacked a police officer and his wife, who was herself an official in a police station."

The attacker struck in the Paris suburb of Magnanville, about 50 km (30 miles) northwest of the French capital and about 20 km from Les Mureaux, where the police commander was stationed.

On a Facebook account said to belong to the attacker, a post announces his "success" in killing a police officer and his wife at their home, claiming that "the brothers in Sham [Isis territories]" are in contact with him.

In pictures: Paris attacks Show all 25 1 /25 In pictures: Paris attacks In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks French police with protective shields walk in line near the Bataclan concert hall Reuters In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Rescuers evacuate an injured person on Boulevard des Filles du Calvaire AFP In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks French Vigipirate troops mobilize next to Place de la Bastille AFP In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks French soldiers mobilize near to the Place de la Bastille AFP In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Wounded people are evacuated outside the scene of a hostage situation at the Bataclan theatre EPA In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks People react as they gather to watch the scene near the Bataclan concert hall Reuters In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks French police secure the area outside a cafe near the Bataclan concert hall Reuters In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Rescuers workers evacuate victims near the Bataclan concert hall AFP In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks French Prime Minister Manuel Valls and French President Francois Hollande attending an emergency meeting at the Interior Ministry AFP In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Spectators invade the pitch of the Stade de France after explosions were heard outside AP In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks A man lies on the ground as French police check his identity near the Bataclan concert hall Reuters In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Police officers man a position close to the Bataclan theatre AFP In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Wounded people are evacuated from the Stade de France in Paris EPA In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Two men evacuate the Place de la Republique square in Paris as a police officer looks on AFP In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Football fans are evacuated from the Stade de France stadium In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks An armed police officer Dan Gabriel In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks The Stade de France is evacuated after reports of an explosion In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks A member of the French fire brigade aids an injured individual near the Bataclan concert hall In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Wounded people are evacuated from the Stade de France in Paris In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Police are seen outside a cafe in 10th arrondissement of the French capital Paris, In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Rescuers assist an injured man on Boulevard des Filles du Calvaire, close to the Bataclan concert hall AFP In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks The scene at a restaurant in 10th arrondissement In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks The Bataclan theatre - where around 100 people are thought be held hostage In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks The Stade de France as it was evacuated In pictures: Paris attacks Paris attacks Forensic experts inspect the site of an attack outside the Stade de France stadium in Saint-Denis AFP

The post continues: "I declare loudly and strongly my allegiance to the Emir Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

"I have responded to the call of Sheikh Abu Muhammad al-Adnani."

Isis spokesperson Abu Muhammad al-Adani has called for a series of lone wolf attacks during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Acknowledging possible defeat in the group’s strongholds of Mosul, in Iraq, Sirte, in Libya and Raqqa, in Syria, he urged followers to create a “month of calamity for infidels”.