The man shot dead at Orly airport was the same individual who had shot at security services earlier in the morning in northern Paris and was "a radicalised Muslim" known to authorities, French police sources said.
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The man seized a French soldier's weapon at the airport and headed for a McDonald's restaurant, before being shot by security forces, Le Monde reported.
"A police road check took place in Stains [northern Paris] this morning at 0700. It turned bad and the individual shot at the officers before fleeing," a police source said, as reported by Reuters.
"This same man - a radicalised Muslim known to intelligence services and the justice system - then took a Famas [assault weapon] from a soldier at Orly's southern terminal ... before being shot dead by a soldier."
No explosives were found on the man's body, a French Interior Ministry spokesman said.
Video footage posted on Twitter showed crowds of people gathering outside the airport, following the incident.
#orly ??vacuation d'urgence. pic.twitter.com/DN6ISxF0qG??? prestiget75 (@prestiget75) March 18, 2017
Parts of the airport were evacuated and passengers were not allowed to disembark after witnesses reported hearing shots, the BBC reported.
Flights were suspended at both Orly Airport's terminals, with some flights diverted to Charles de Gaulle Airport, north of Paris.
France's anti-terrorism prosecutor has opened an investigation that will cover both incidents, an official at the prosecutor's office said.
The shooting came after a similar incident last month at the Louvre Museum.
France remains under a state of emergency.
More to come
with Reuters, AAP