PARIS, France (AFP) — A French soldier patrolling at the Louvre museum shot and seriously injured a machete-wielding attacker on Friday, thrusting security and the terror threat back into the limelight three months before elections.

Police held hundreds of tourists in secure areas of the world famous attraction after the assailant was shot five times around 10:00 am (0900 GMT) in a public area near one of the museum’s entrances.

Sources investigating the incident said the attacker is a 29-year-old man, adding he said in his visa application he was Egyptian-born.

The man is thought to have entered France on a flight from Dubai on January 26, a source said.

The man wielded a machete and shouted “Allahu Akbar” (“God is greatest”) as he lunged at soldiers patrolling outside the Louvre, home to the Mona Lisa and one of the world’s most-visited museums.

Security forces described the attacker as being in a serious condition while one soldier suffered a minor head wound. A second machete, along with cans of spray paint were found in the man’s backpack.

City police chief Michel Cadot said the assailant was armed with “at least one machete” and added a man whose behaviour was “suspicious” had also been arrested.

As authorities probed the attacker’s background French President Francois Hollande said that “there is little doubt as to the terrorist nature of this act,” an assessment echoed by Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve. 

France was already still reeling from a string of terror attacks over the last two years and the country has been under a state of emergency since November 2015. 

The economy, immigration and security are major issues for voters ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections forecast to confirm the country’s shift right after five years of Socialist rule.

US President Donald Trump tweeted that a “new radical Islamic terrorist has just attacked in Louvre Museum in Paris. Tourists were locked down. France on edge again. GET SMART US.”

Witnesses described scenes of panic as people fled the Louvre complex following the incident.

“We heard gunshots. We didn’t know what it was about. Then we evacuated the employees and we left,” one man who works in a nearby restaurant told AFP.

A woman colleague said: “We saw death coming for us, with everything that’s happening at the moment. We were very, very scared.”

The Louvre closed following the attack — but will re-open on Saturday.

Paris’ lucrative tourism industry has been a major casualty of the terror attacks, with visitors cancelling or shortening their stays.

Thousands of troops have been deployed to guard the capital, groups of soldiers carrying automatic rifles a regular sight both inside the Louvre and around its sculpture-filled gardens.

Security forces simulated an attack there in early December to rehearse for such an emergency.

“It’s so sad and shocking… we can’t let them win, it’s horrible,” British tourist Gillian Simms, visiting Paris with her daughters, told AFP.

Jessie McCaw, a 18-year-old from the US state of Montana, said she had been evacuated but she appeared unfazed. 

“I’m not worried because the police seem prepared in France, which is reassuring,” she said.

The former royal palace in the heart of the city houses legendary artworks as well as shops and restaurants.

But visitor numbers have slid some two million since 2015 to 7.3 million after the spate of recent attacks across France hit its claim to be the world’s most visited museum.

The series of terror attacks in France began in January 2015 when jihadist gunmen rampaged through the Charlie Hebdo satirical newspaper and a Jewish supermarket, leaving 17 people dead in three days of bloodshed.

Ten months later, gunmen and suicide bombers from the Islamic State jihadist group attacked bars, restaurants, a concert hall and the national stadium in Paris, killing 130 people.

And last July, a Tunisian extremist rammed a lorry through crowds celebrating Bastille Day in Nice on France’s south coast, crushing 86 people to death.

Security has been a key campaign theme ahead of the presidential election in April and May, which a parliamentary election will follow in June.

Rightwing candidate Francois Fillon, whose tough line on immigration and Islam made him an early poll favourite, has been ensnared in a damaging parliamentary expenses scandal in recent days.

Anti-immigrant far-right leader Marine Le Pen is hoping for a boost from the furore and Trump’s election, while 39-year-old centrist independent Emmanuel Macron is also climbing in the polls.

Friday’s incident came on the very day that Paris submitted its formal bid dossier to host the 2024 Summer Olympics.