French police have arrested a man in the search for a driver who slammed his car into soldiers in a Paris suburb, injuring six of them in what appeared to be a carefully timed ambush before speeding away, officials said.

Key points: A BMW hit and injured six French soldiers in a north-west suburb of Paris

A BMW hit and injured six French soldiers in a north-west suburb of Paris None of the soldiers had life-threatening injuries, authorities said

None of the soldiers had life-threatening injuries, authorities said The local mayor says the incident was "without any doubt" premeditated

The driver's motive was unclear, but officials said he deliberately aimed at the soldiers in the suburb of Levallois-Perret, and counter-terrorism authorities opened an investigation.

None of the soldiers had life-threatening injuries, authorities said.

It was the latest of several attacks targeting security forces guarding France over the past year.

While others have targeted prominent sites like the Eiffel Tower, the latest attack hit the leafy, relatively affluent suburb of Levallois-Perret that is home to France's main intelligence service, the DGSI.

Witnesses described seeing a BMW with one person inside waiting in a cul-de-sac near a building used for the soldiers, according to two police officials.

Police work near the scene where French soldiers were hit and injured in the western Paris suburb. ( Reuters: Benoit Tessier )

One official said the attacker struck just as a group of soldiers emerged from the building to board vehicles for a new shift.

Speaking to broadcaster BFM TV, Levallois-Perret Mayor Patrick Balkany said the incident was "without any doubt" premeditated.

"It's an odious act of aggression," he said.

Authorities checked video surveillance of the area, near the city hall of Levallois, northwest of Paris, and police fanned out around the French capital and stopped numerous cars as they searched for the attacker.

Most were released. But in one case, police stopped a car on the A16 highway and arrested the driver and were verifying his possible links to the attack, according to two police officials.

One said the arrest was violent and police fired at the suspect to subdue him.

'They must have planned this'

A witness to the Levallois attack described an ear-piercing scream of pain that is still echoing through her head.

Nadia LeProhon, 45, was startled by a loud crash outside her building and rushed outside her seventh-floor window to see two soldiers on the ground.

Other soldiers ran after a speeding car, shouting "After him! Follow that car!".

"I'll never forget that scream — a scream of pain and distress," she said.

Local residents are accustomed to seeing security forces patrolling the suburb. ( Reuters: Benoit Tessier )

Resident Jean-Claude Veillant said he saw two uniformed soldiers prone on the ground when he came down to the entrance of his 13-storey building.

"It was horrible," he said, adding that both soldiers appeared to be in bad shape and one of them was unconscious.

The street is normally guarded by posts that are removed when vehicles move in and out, so the driver must have known exactly when to strike, Mr Veillant said.

"They must've really planned this," he said.

Residents of Levallois-Perret are so accustomed to seeing security forces that resident Roseline Bailleux, 67, thought the incident was an exercise.

She was woken in the morning by her husband, who had noticed a crush of ambulances and emergency vehicles.

"We thought it was an exercise," she said.

She said she had been touched by several previous attacks, including the 2015 gun rampage at the Bataclan music venue in Paris — which was next door to where one of her children lived — and the 2016 Nice truck attack, which happened near where she used to live.

"I'm not going to stop walking through the park because of that … it can happen to anyone," she said.

Driver targeted specialist anti-terror troops

Three of the soldiers hit in the morning attack were slightly injured, while three were more seriously hurt, but their lives weren't in danger, according to the Defence Ministry.

The Defence Minister Sylvie Goulard said she received "reassuring" news about their condition Wednesday afternoon.

The soldiers targeted are from the 35th infantry regiment and serve in the Sentinelle military operation, which was created after a string of Islamic extremist attacks in 2015.

The injured officers are members of the military operation Sentinelle. ( Reuters: Benoit Tessier )

It is the latest of several attacks targeting security forces in France guarding prominent sites after a string of attacks in which Islamist militants or Islamist-inspired attackers have killed more than 230 people over the past two years.

Combat troops were employed to patrol streets and protect key sites following the Charlie Hebdo shootings.

The latest incident comes just days after a teenager with psychiatric problems tried to attack security forces guarding the Eiffel Tower.

French President Emmanuel Macron will hold a previously scheduled top-level security meeting in coming hours.

A state of emergency remains in place in France and the Government has warned that hundreds of jihadists returning from Iraq and Syria pose a threat.

Map Location of the Paris suburb where the incident occurred.

Wires/ABC