Francois Hollande has said
that 'theories' must be
explored as to why the attack
happened
The 25-year-old soldier was
knifed as a he patrolled
around the suburban railway
station for RER A service
which links the French capital
with the suburbs.
Pierre-Andre Peyvel, prefect
of the Hauts-de-Seine
district, said the soldier's
wounds were 'serious
enough'.
The soldier is currently at the
nearby Percy hospital.
'Thousands of people were in
the area at the time of the
attack,' said Mr Peyvel. 'It
would have been quite easy
to blend into the crowd and
then disappear.'
'The attack happened just
after 6pm,' said a police
source. 'The soldier was
stabbed repeatedly, most
notably in the throat.
'The attacker ran away and
the military are still looking
for him, supported by the
police. He is around 30 years
old and of Arab appearance.
'The wounded soldier was
taken to a local railway
station for treatment and
then on to hospital.'
The source said that the
soldier's life was not in
danger, but he was 'badly
hurt'.
The soldier is in France's 4th
Cavalry regiment, which has
served in Afghanistan and
has been on standby to fight
in Mali.
Highlighting the seriousness
of the attack on the soldier in
Paris, President Francois
Hollande said 'we must look
at all the theories' for it
happening.
'We will not rule out any of
them, we will look at all the
elements' said Mr Hollande,
clearly referring to the
possibility that the attacker
may have been motivated by
what happened in London.
Mr Hollande, who is on a visit
to Ethiopia, placed himself
firmly at the centre of the
war against terrorism earlier
this year by sending troops
into Mali, where Al-Qaeda
backed rebels have been
trying to take control.
Mr Hollande has warned that
European streets will be far
less safe if violent Islamists
are given free rein in former
French colonies, like Mali.
This has led to a huge
backlash from terrorist
groups, with numerous
warnings that the French
military, who are also fighting
in Afghanistan, are legitimate
targets
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