A French off-duty policeman on Monday detained a man after he allegedly attacked and wounded three women with two kitchen knives in Paris, a minister and police said.

Judicial police work in a cordoned off area after a knife-wielding man wounded three people in Paris on July 27, 2026. (Photo: AFP)

Three women aged 19, 24 and 36 were taken to hospital after the assault at around 11:30 am (0930 GMT) in the Porte de Clichy area in the north of the capital, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez and Paris police said.

Two were gravely wounded, but their lives were not in danger, Nunez said. One was hit in the lower back, the other in the abdomen.

"The perpetrator was apprehended by an off-duty police officer," Nunez said.

The identity of the suspect and his motive were not immediately clear.

He had made "incoherent statements", Nunez added, however warning against jumping to conclusions on his motives.