A "terrorist" shot by soldiers at the Louvre has been named by security sources as Abdullah Reda al Hamamy, a 29-year-old Egyptian man.

The famous Paris museum reopened to the public on Saturday, less than 24 hours after the attack.

Armed police and soldiers stood guard as tourists filed past them in drizzly conditions.

An initial investigation has found the suspect had no record of criminal activity, political activism or membership of any militant groups in his home country, an Egyptian Interior Ministry official told the AP news agency.

Hamamy is said to have shouted "Allahu Akbar" while holding a machete in each hand, before being shot after lunging at four French soldiers outside the landmark.


Father of Louvre suspect: 'This is a cover-up'

Despite being shot several times in the abdomen, the Paris prosecutor's office said Hamamy's condition had "markedly improved".

"His life is no longer in danger," an official said.

Police said a backpack Hamamy had been carrying contained cans of spray paint but no explosives.

His father, Reda al Refaai, told Reuters his son had been in France for work.

All he wanted, he said, was to discover the truth.

"Is he dead? Was it really him?" he said. "But for them to say in the end he is a terrorist is nonsense. He was wearing jeans, trainers and a shirt reading 'Italy'. He's never even worn a Jalabiya (traditional loose garment).

Image: Armed police secure the area in front of the Louvre in Paris

"This incident doesn't make any sense... They said he hurt a soldier and then another soldier fired at him... Why haven't we seen this soldier's injury?

"This is a cover up so they don't have to apologise or justify the acts of this soldier who used brutal force with a poor, 29-year-old young man."

He told a Dubai-based news channel, al Hadath, his son was "a very normal young man" and was married with a seven-month-old child.

He said Hamamy had sent a picture of himself with the Eiffel Tower in the background shortly before the incident at the Louvre took place.