Further details have been released about the Notre-Dame attacker

French police have shot a man who attacked an officer with a hammer outside the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

The man has been identified as being an Algerian student according to the identification he was carrying, and was wounded but not killed in the shooting.

The French Interior Minister said the attacker shouted 'this is for Syria,' before being taken down by police, according to RTÉ.

Locked inside #notre dame cathedral in #paris while police investigate attack outside against a policeman. All calm pic.twitter.com/Z4B8wUzPTV

— Nancy Soderberg (@nancysoderberg) June 6, 2017

The man attempted to attack police with a hammer outside the iconic Notre Dame cathedral, and was later found to also be armed with kitchen knives.

Hundreds of people took refuge in the cathedral and nearby cafes, with many of them updating the public via Twitter as to what was going on. 

A counter-terrorism investigation has been launched in the aftermath of the attack. 

The attack came just three days after the tragic London Bridge attack which claimed the lives of seven people.