Charlie Hebdo anniversary: Paris police shoot man dead
AFP
French police have shot dead a man who was apparently trying to attack a police station, on the anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo attacks.
Officials say he was carrying a knife and wearing a fake suicide vest.
Minutes earlier, President Francois Hollande had praised police in a speech commemorating the January 2015 Paris killings.
Gunmen murdered 17 people in a series of attacks including at Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Jewish supermarket.
In his address, Mr Hollande said 5,000 extra police and gendarmes would be added to existing forces by 2017 in an "unprecedented" strengthening of French security.
In addition, 2,000 extra jobs are being created in the intelligence services.
After his speech at the police headquarters in Paris, news emerged about the shooting in the 18th district in northern Paris.
French officials say the man shouted "Allahu Akbar!" (God is Great) outside a police station in Goutte d'Or, near Montmartre, where police shot and killed him.
He was wielding a knife and bomb disposal experts were brought in after wires were seen extending from his body.
A police robot checked the man's body but a belt he was wearing contained no explosives.
A cordon has been set up around the area, and security boosted at schools and on public transport networks in the city, according to reports.
A year ago police shot dead three jihadist gunmen who had inflicted three days of terror on Paris. But questions remain about their jihadist contacts and possible accomplices in the Middle East.
Three police officers were among the 17 victims of the gunmen on 7-9 January, 2015.
On Thursday, the French president said the officers had "died so that we could live in freedom".
But with France also still mourning the deaths of 130 people in jihadist attacks in Paris in November, he also used his speech to call for greater co-operation between the security services.
"Terrorism still weighs heavily on our country," Mr Hollande said.
Since a state of emergency was imposed on the night of 13 November, police have brought to light 25 offences related to terrorism, he added.
"Faced with these adversaries, it is essential that every service - police, gendarmerie, intelligence, military - work in perfect harmony."
Reuters
He said the rules for police use of firearms were also being revised, so that gunmen could be tackled more effectively.
Earlier, Parisians laid flowers and lit candles at the former office of Charlie Hebdo magazine, where a plaque was unveiled on Tuesday.
A second plaque was installed where a police officer was shot, and a third at the Jewish supermarket.
On Saturday, a fourth plaque will be unveiled in the southern suburb of Montrouge, where one of the gunmen shot dead a policewoman.
The commemorations will culminate in a public event on Sunday in the Place de la Republique, where Parisians gathered in the wake of the attacks.
A 35ft (10m) oak "remembrance tree" will be planted in the square and veteran French musician Johnny Hallyday will perform Un Dimanche de Janvier (One January Sunday), a song recalling the vast march in Paris that followed the attacks.
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