Attacker injures a police officer in central Paris, minister says

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PARIS (Reuters) -A police officer was critically injured in a stabbing attack in Paris’ Champs Elysees shopping district on Thursday after a security guard at a boutique called police after spotting a man who appeared to be carrying a knife, the Paris police chief said.

The attacker was also critically injured, the police chief, Laurent Nunez, told reporters.

France is on its highest state of security alert as it gears up to host millions of visitors, athletes and world leaders during the Paris Olympic Summer Games, due to kick off on July 26.

Paris police called on people to avoid the Champs Elysees area.

Television footage showed armed police condoning off the famous avenue.

The attack was the latest in a string of unrelated security incidents in the French capital this week.

A soldier was stabbed and wounded by a man armed with a knife at a railway station on Monday. Authorities are also investigating whether a man who rammed a car into the terrace of a cafe on Wednesday evening did so deliberately.

(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Leslie Adler)