A policewoman has been deliberately knocked down and injured by a driver outside President Hollande's palace in central Paris.

Witnesses have said the motorist aimed at the officer outside the Élysée Palace and two people have been arrested.

A reporter on BFM TV in France said the car had been driving the wrong way along a one-way system before ramming the policewoman and knocking her to the floor overnight.

Scroll down for video

Hit and run: A policewoman guarding the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris, pictured today, has been deliberately run down outside after a driver went the wrong way up a one-way street

The men in the car then abandoned it and fled on foot but were chased by police on bikes and arrested. President Hollande was in the palace at the time.

Stephanie Weber-Boyer from police union Alliance said: 'The policewoman said that the driver looked at her in the eyes, this is what allows us to say that he drove into her deliberately'.

She added: 'You can not tell if it is related to what happened last week'.

Protection: The Elysee Palace, pictured last week, is guarded by armed police day and night and President Hollande was there when the officer was attacked

The victim's condition is unclear but it appears she suffered injuries to her arms and upper body.

The incident comes with France on high security alert after a week of violence in the capital in which 17 people were killed in attacks by three Islamist militants.

The reports said it was not clear whether the incident was connected to those attacks.