A Muslim male on Saturday morning fired at police in northern Paris before traveling to the city's Orly Airport. He was shot dead while wrestling with a female soldier.

The attacker assaulted three French Air Force soldiers - two men and a woman - who were part of the anti-terror Sentinelle special forces group. Wrestling the woman to the floor, he attempted to take her weapon but did not succeed.

The remaining two soldiers then opened fire to protect their comrade and others in the airport, killing the would-be thief.

No explosives were found on his body, and no other casualties were reported.

As a result of the incident, 3,000 passengers were evacuated from the airport, and all flights were suspended, with some diverted to Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Prior to the airport incident, the man had shot a female police officer who stopped him for speeding. He then stole a car at gunpoint and drove to Orly Airport.

The officer was "not badly injured."

According to French broadcaster BFMTV, the man, 39-year-old Ziyed Ben Belgacem, immediately after he shot the officer, sent his father and brother a text message reading, "I screwed up, I shot the police."

Belgacem was a French native and known to French security services.

In November 2015, immediately following the Paris terror attacks which killed 130 people, Belgacem's home was one of those searched in investigations.

Belgacem's father and brother were detained by French police for questioning.

Security services have opened an investigation and French President François Hollande said they would investigate "whether the attacker had a terrorist plot behind him."