A man who attacked police officers at Notre Dame cathedral pledged support to Islamic State in a video, it has been revealed.

Footage of the man expressing his allegiance to the extremist group was found during a police search of his flat in Cergy, a Paris suburb, on Wednesday.

A French government spokesperson has revealed he was a doctoral student and former journalist, and his identity papers show he was 40 and from Algeria.

The man was shot by police after attacking them with a hammer outside the cathedral on Tuesday.

He shouted "this is for Syria!" and carried kitchen knives during the attack, which French police are treating as a terrorist act.


The suspect, who has not been named, is being treated in hospital for a gunshot wound to the chest.

A 22-year-old officer received injuries to his neck during the attack, which happened while around 1,000 people were inside the cathedral.

Government spokesperson Christophe Castaner told France's RTL Radio the suspect had not shown any signs of radicalisation or violence before the attack.

The country has been in a state of emergency since November 2015 when 130 people were killed in co-ordinated attacks across the capital.