France launches terror investigation into Paris knife attack

At least two people have been wounded in a knife attack near the former offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris.

French police apprehended two suspects after the attack on Friday and French prosecutors have opened a terrorism investigation.

French media BFM TV and Le Figaro said earlier one suspect had been arrested on the steps of the Paris Bastille opera house.

Schoolchildren were being kept inside in area around the attack, a city hall official said.

A French police official said authorities are still searching the area as they questioned the detained suspects.

No explosives were found in a suspicious package found at the scene, a French radio channel said, citing police sources.

Initial reports suggest four victims

Police initially announced that four people were wounded in the attack, but the official told The Associated Press that there are in fact only two confirmed wounded. 

Police could not explain the discrepancies.

It is unclear what motivated the attack on Friday or whether it had any link to Charlie Hebdo, which moved offices after its staff was attacked by attackers in 2015, who killed 12 people inside.

AP reporters at the scene of Friday's police operation saw officers flooding into the neighbourhood, near the Richard Lenoir subway station. Police cordoned off the area including the former Charlie Hebdo offices after a suspect package was noticed nearby, according the police official.

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Charlie Hebdo trial

Police did not release the identities of the attacker or the wounded, who are in “absolutely urgent” condition, the official said. The official was not authorised to be publicly named.

Prime Minister Jean Castex cut short a visit to a suburb north of Paris to head to the Interior Ministry to follow developments.

The trial in the Charlie Hebdo attacks is currently underway across town. Murmurs broke at the terrorism trial of 14 people, including 3 fugitives, accused of helping the attackers in the January 2015 killings, as the news filtered through. 

The widows of the Charlie Hebdo attackers are scheduled to testify on Friday afternoon.

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This is a developing story and will be updated accordingly.