In April 2017, a man pulled up to police buses on the Champs Elysees in Paris and opened fire on the buses. One police officer was killed and 2 others injured in the subsequent shootout. The gunman was shot dead by authorities. A shotgun and knives were discovered inside of the attacker’s vehicle. He was a French national known to be an extremist sympathizer.
The attack came before the French elections and sparked debate over the monitoring of individuals flagged for extremism. France was reeling after suffering several terrorist attacks. The attacker had previously been convicted of attempted murder in the shooting of two police officers. He served a lengthy sentence. He had also been identified as a possible Islamic radical.
