
This is a list ofterrorist attacks inFrance from 1800 to the present. Several 19th-century French rulers were targeted in unsuccessful assassination attempts which killed innocent bystanders.
Since 1970, France experienced 2,654 terrorist incidents, resulting in 1,247 terrorist-related deaths and 2,559 injuries, the second highest in western Europe after theUnited Kingdom.[1][2]France remains the country most affected by Islamist terrorism withinEurope, with recent data showcasing a total of 82Islamist attacks and 332 deaths from 1979 to 2021.[3]

France has a lengthy history of terrorist attacks carried out by a variety of groups from the extreme right, extreme left, extremeBasque,Breton,Savoy andCorsican nationalists,Algerian insurgent groups andIslamist extremists.[4] Most of the attacks have been bombings utilisingimprovised explosive devices (IEDs).Anarchists carried out a series of bombings and assassination attempts in the 19th century. A number of attacks associated with theAlgerian War took place in the 1950s and 1960s, including the deadliest terrorist attack in France in the 20th century, the1961 Vitry-Le-François train bombing carried out by the pro-colonialist French nationalistOrganisation armée secrète.
Various Middle Eastern factions carried out shootings and bombings in the 1970s and 1980s, mainly in Paris, while during theAlgerian Civil War of the 1990s, insurgents associated with theArmed Islamic Group (GIA) carried out a series of major attacks against theParis public transport system. Nationalist extremists from the Basque, Breton and Corsican communities carried out a number of assassinations and targeted bomb attacks in the 1990s and 2000s. Islamist extremists have carried out numerous attacks in the 2010s, of which theNovember 2015 Paris attacks have been the bloodiest to date. Although 2015 has been the deadliest year so far in terms of fatalities caused by terrorist attacks, the number of separate terrorist attacks in previous years has been far higher. The highest number of attacks recorded in a single year was 270 in 1996, largely carried out by Algerian Civil War insurgents. The last year without any recorded terrorist attacks was 1971.[5]

Outside France, the terrorist attack with the most French victims was the 19 September 1989 bombing ofUTA Flight 772 overNiger, in which 170 people died, 54 of them French citizens.[6]
| Date | Type | Dead | Injured | Location and description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 December 1800 | Bombing | 22 | 50+ | Plot of the rue Saint-Nicaise, an unsuccessful attempt to assassinateNapoleon Bonaparte in Paris.[6][7] |
| 28 July 1835 | Shooting | 18 | 22 | Unsuccessful attempt byGiuseppe Mario Fieschi to assassinate KingLouis Philippe I using an "infernal device", essentially an improvised multi-barrelled gun.[6][8] |
| 14 January 1858 | Bombing | 8 | 106 | Unsuccessful attempt by Italian nationalistFelice Orsini to assassinateNapoleon III.[6][9] |
| 8 November 1892 | Bombing | 5 | 0 | The anarchistÉmile Henry placed a bomb at the offices of theCarmaux Mining Company, killing five police officers after it was discovered and transported to a police station.[10] |
| 9 December 1893 | Bombing | 0 | 1 | The anarchistAuguste Vaillant threw a home-made bomb into theFrench Chamber of Deputies from the public gallery, injuring one deputy.[11] |
| 12 February 1894 | Bombing | 1 | 20 | French anarchistÉmile Henry detonated a bomb at theCafé Terminus in the ParisianGare Saint-Lazare.[12] |
| 24 June 1894 | Stabbing | 1 | 0 | Assassination of thePresident of the French Republic,Sadi Carnot by the Italian anarchistSante Geronimo Caserio, in revenge for the execution of Vaillant.[13] |
| Date | Type | Dead | Injured | Location and description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 July 1914 | Shooting | 1 | 0 | Assassination ofJean Jaurès asocialist leader and a committedantimilitarist, at the outbreak ofWorld War I, in a Parisian cafe, by a French nationalistRaoul Villain.[14] |
| 25 May 1926 | Shooting | 1 | 0 | Assassination of Ukrainian nationalistSymon Petliura inParis on rue Racine, by a Russian revolutionarySholom Schwartzbard.[15] |
| 9 October 1934 | Shooting | 6 | 5 | Assassination ofAlexander I of Yugoslavia and French Foreign MinisterLouis Barthou inMarseille, by a Bulgarian revolutionaryVlado Chernozemski.[16] |
| 23 January 1937 | Stabbing | 1 | 0 | Assassination of Dimitri Navachine, former governor of theBCEN, a Soviet-controlled bank in Paris, by anextreme-right groupLa Cagoule. |
| 9 June 1937 | Shooting | 2 | 0 | Assassination of two Italian antifascists, the Rosseli Brothers (Nello andCarlo) byLa Cagoule inBagnoles-de-l'Orne, probably on the orders ofMussolini. |
| 11 September 1937 | Bombing | 2 | 0 | Bomb attack byLa Cagoule against theUnion des industries et métiers de la métallurgie and the "Confédération générale du patronat français" to create the impression of a communist conspiracy.[17] |
| 15 September 1958 | Shooting | 1 | 3 | Unsuccessful attempt by the AlgerianNational Liberation Front (FLN) to assassinate the French Information MinisterJacques Soustelle on thePlace de l'Etoile in Paris. |
| 18 June 1961 | Bombing | 28 | 100+ | 1961 Vitry-Le-François train bombing carried out by the French-Algerian anti-secession paramilitaryOrganisation armée secrète (OAS), which caused a fastStrasbourg–Paris train to derail; the worst terrorist attack in French history before the 21st century.[4][18] |
| 8 September 1961 | Shooting | 0 | 0 | An OAS gang controlled byRaoul Salan fired a plastic charge at the car of French presidentCharles de Gaulle. |
| 22 January 1962 | Bombing | 1 | 12 | Bomb attack against theQuai d'Orsay, carried out by theOAS.[18] |
| 9 March 1962 | Bombing | 3 | 47 | 1962 Issy-les-Moulineaux bombing: Car bomb attack inIssy-les-Moulineaux, carried out by theOAS.[18] |
| 22 August 1962 | Shooting | 0 | 0 | Unsuccessful assassination attempt on the president byJean Bastien-Thiry, likely on behalf of the OAS.Charles de Gaulle's presidential motorcade was raked by machine-gun fire in a Paris suburb called Petit-Clamart. The rear window shattered, and two tires burst, but De Gaulle and his wife escaped unharmed. |
| 9 May 1970 | Bombing | 0 | 0 | Besançon courthouse attack : bomb attack inBesançon, carried out by theUDR/SAC[19] |
| 14 December 1973 | Bombing | 4 | 20 | 1973 Algerian consulate bombing in Marseille: Bomb attack against theAlgerian consulate inMarseille by the far-rightCharles Martel Group.[4] |
| 28 July 1974 | Bombing | 0 | 12 | Bomb attack against the Spanish consulate inToulouse byInternationalist Revolutionary Action Groups (GARI). |
| 15 September 1974 | Bombing | 2 | 34 | Grenade attack on the Drugstore Saint-Germain-des-Prés, allegedly byCarlos the Jackal.[20] |
| 13–19 January 1975 | RPG attack | 0 | 24 | Two failed rocket propelled grenade attacks onEl Al airplanes atOrly Airport byCarlos the Jackal andBlack September.[21] |
| 9 March 1975 | Bombing | 1 | 6 | Bomb attack in theGare de l'Est, Paris. |
| 31 July 1975 | Hostage taking | 1 | 2 | Hostage taking at the Iraqi embassy in Paris, carried out by thePalestine Liberation Organization (PLO). |
| 24 October 1975 | Shooting | 2 | 0 | A group of Armenian militants ambushed the car of Turkish Ambassadorİsmail Erez killing him and his chauffeur. BothASALA andJCAG claimed responsibility. |
| 18 October 1977 | Shooting | 1 | 0 | ARed Army Faction commando shoots and kills German industrialistHanns Martin Schleyer near the city ofMulhouse. Another commando hadkidnapped Schleyer inCologne,Germany, on 5 September 1977, killing his driver and three police officers. |
| 11 May 1978 | Bombing | 0 | 0 | Bomb attack carried out by members of the separatistNational Liberation Front of Corsica against an Air FranceBoeing 707 while it was on the ground atAjaccio Napoleon Bonaparte Airport in Corsica.[21] |
| 20 May 1978 | Shooting | 4 | 5 | Three terrorists open fire on El Al passengers in the departure lounge ofOrly Airport south of Paris.[21][22] |
| 26 June 1978 | Bombing | 0 | 1 | 1978 Palace of Versailles bombing: Two Breton terrorists cause significant damage to pieces of art at the Palace of Versailles near Paris with a bomb. |
| 3 August 1978 | Shooting | 2 | 0 | Assassination of thePLO representative in Paris, Izz al-Din al-Kalak and one of his assistants, by theAbu Nidal Organization. |
| 2 December 1978 | Bombing | 1 | 25 | A bomb attack kills one at theBazar de l'Hôtel de Ville in Paris. Nobody claimed responsibility. |
| 27 March 1979 | Bombing | 0 | 32 | Bomb attack against a university restaurant in a Jewish student hostel in Paris claimed by anAnti-Zionist group.[22] |
| 7 December 1979 | Shooting | 1 | 0 | Assassination ofShahriar Shafiq, a former Imperial Navy Captain ofIran, in Paris on the Rue Pergolese where he was in exile. Ayatollah Khalkhali claimed that the assassination was carried out by one of hisdeath squads. The Muslim Liberation Group announced that it was responsible for the assassination. |
| 23 December 1979 | Shooting | 1 | 0 | Assassination of Turkish attaché for tourism in France, Yılmaz Çolpan on theChamps Elysées by theJCAG. |
| 17 January 1980 | Shooting | 1 | 0 | Assassination of the director of the Palestinian library-shop in Paris, Yusef Mubarak, by theAbu Nidal Organization. |
| 29 January 1980 | Bombing | 1 | 8 | Bomb attack against the Syrian Embassy in Paris. |
| 11 June 1980 | Bombing | 0 | 12 | Bomb attack in the west terminal of Orly Airport, claimed by the far-left groupAction directe.[21] |
| 21 July 1980 | Shooting | 1 | 0 | Assassination of formerPrime Minister of Syria,Salah al-Bitar in his newspaper office in Paris. |
| 5 August 1980 | Shooting | 2 | 11 | 1980 Turkish Consulate attack in Lyon, carried out by theArmenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA). |
| 3 October 1980 | Bombing | 4 | 46 | 1980 Paris synagogue bombing against the synagogue of theFrench Israeli Liberal Union on rue Copernic, Paris.[4] |
| 4 March 1981 | Shooting | 2 | 1 | Assassination of the Turkish Labour Attaché, Reşat Moralı, and the Religious Affairs Officer in the Turkish Embassy, Tecelli Arı by two gunmen ofASALA in Paris. |
| 16 April 1981 | Bombing | 1 | 8 | Bomb attack at Ajaccio airport shortly after the arrival of French PresidentValéry Giscard d'Estaing.[21] |
| 29 August 1981 | Bombing | 0 | 15 | Bomb attack by a Palestinian group in the Intercontinental Hotel in Paris. |
| 24–25 September 1981 | Hostage taking | 1 | 2 | 1981 Turkish consulate attack in Paris, carried out byASALA. |
| 18 January 1982 | Shooting | 1 | 0 | Assassination of the United States Assistant Army Attaché (Charles R. Ray), carried out by theLebanese Armed Revolutionary Faction. |
| 29 March 1982 | Bombing | 5 | 29 | 1982 Capitole bombing: Bomb attack against the "Capitole" train between Paris andToulouse, attributed toCarlos the Jackal.[4] |
| 3 April 1982 | Shooting | 1 | 0 | Assassination of an Israeli embassy advisor (Yaacov Barsimentov) in Paris, carried out by theLebanese Armed Revolutionary Faction. |
| 22 April 1982 | Bombing | 1 | 60 | April 1982 Paris car bombing: Car bomb attack outside the Parisian offices of anti-Syrian newspaperAl-Watan Al-Arabi, attributed toCarlos the Jackal.[20] |
| 21 July 1982 | Bombing | 0 | 15 | Bomb attack in a terrace café on thePlace Saint-Michel in Paris, carried out byASALA. |
| 9 August 1982 | Shooting | 6 | 22 | Goldenberg restaurant attack on theRue des Rosiers in Paris, attributed to theAbu Nidal Organization (ANO).[4] |
| 17 September 1982 | Bombing | 0 | 51 | September 1982 Paris car bombing: Bomb attack against an Israeli diplomat in front of the Israeli consulate and theLycée Carnot, claimed byFARL andAction directe.[22] |
| 28 February 1983 | Bombing | 1 | 4 | Bomb attack in an office of the travel agency Marmara in Paris, carried out byASALA. |
| 15 July 1983 | Bombing | 8 | 56 | 1983 Orly Airport attack, carried out byASALA.[4][21] |
| 30 September 1983 | Bombing | 1 | 26 | 1983Marseille exhibition bombing: Bomb attack during the Marseille International Fair Trade.Action directe,FARL,ASALA andCommando Delta claimed responsibility. |
| 23 December 1983 | Bombing | 0 | 12 | Grand Véfour restaurant bombing: Bombing of an upmarket restaurant in Paris. |
| 31 December 1983 | Bombing | 5 | 13 | TGV train and Marseille station bombings: Bombing of aTGV fast train between Marseille and Paris and theSaint Charles train station in Marseille, attributed toCarlos the Jackal.[20] |
| 3 May 1984 | Bombing | 0 | 13 | Alfortville Armenian Genocide Memorial bombings |
| 7 February 1984 | Shooting | 2 | 1 | Assassination ofGholam Ali Oveisi, a former military governor ofTehran, and his brother in Paris where they were in exile. TheIslamic Jihad claimed responsibility. |
| 8 February 1984 | Shooting | 1 | 0 | Assassination of theUnited Arab Emirates' ambassador to France, Khalifa Abdel Aziz al-Mubarak on a Paris street, attributed to theAbu Nidal Organization (ANO). |
| 22 April 1984 | Bombing | 0 | 1 | Sonauto and Sony-France bombings damaged buildings owned by companies importing Japanese goods, attributed to 'anarchist group' to protest 'a death sentence passed against a fellow anarchist in Japan.'[23] |
| 2 August 1984 | Bombing | 0 | 6 | Bombing of theEuropean Space Agency headquarters in Paris, byAction directe. |
| 11 November 1984 | Shooting | 2 | 5 | 1984 Châteaubriant shooting: A far-right extremist killed two Turkish workers and wounded five others.[24] |
| 25 January 1985 | Shooting | 1 | 0 | Assassination ofRené Audran, senior official of theFrench Ministry of Defence, byAction directe. |
| 23 February 1985 | Bombing | 1 | 14 | February 1985 Paris bombing: Bomb attack against theMarks & Spencer store inboulevard Haussmann, ordered by the15 May Organization.[25][26] |
| 29 March 1985 | Bombing | 0 | 18 | Rivoli Beaubourg cinema bombing: Bomb attack against the Rivoli Beaubourg cinema in Paris during a Jewish film festival.[22][25][27] |
| 25 September 1985 | Shooting | 4 | 1 | Monbar Hotel attack inBayonne, in which four members ofETA who police believed to be senior figures in the organisation were killed by theGrupos Antiterroristas de Liberación (GAL). |
| 7 December 1985 | Bombing | 0 | 43 | Double bomb attack against the Printemps Haussmann store in Paris, attributed to theHezbollah.[25][26] |
| 3–5 February 1986 | Bombings | 1 | 35 | Three bomb attacks in 3 days against Paris's Claridge Hotel on theChamps-Élysées, a bookshop on thePlace Saint-Michel and a Fnac store onLes Halles by theCSPPA andHezbollah.[25][26] |
| 20 March 1986 | Bombing | 2 | 29 | Bomb attack against the Point Show gallery on theChamps-Élysées by theCSPPA andHezbollah.[25] |
| 9 July 1986 | Bombing | 1 | 21 | 1986 Paris police station attack: Bombing of theBrigade de répression du banditisme office in Paris, byAction directe. |
| 5–15 September 1986 | Bombings | 5 | 131 | Four bomb attacks, against a post office in theHôtel de Ville, aCasino caféteria inLa Défense, a restaurant on theChamps-Élysées and an office in thePréfecture de police by theCSPPA andHezbollah.[25] |
| 17 September 1986 | Bombing | 7 | 55 | Bomb attack against the Tati store on rue de Rennes in Paris, attributed to theCSPPA andHezbollah.[4] |
| 17 November 1986 | Shooting | 1 | 0 | Assassination ofGeorges Besse, CEO ofRenault, byAction directe.[14] |
| 22 October 1988 | Arson | 0 | 14 | 1988 attack on Saint-Michel cinema in Paris carried out by anintegrist Catholic group to protest against the showing ofThe Last Temptation of Christ. |
| 24 December 1994 | Hijacking | 4 (+3) | 25 | Hijacking ofAir France Flight 8969 by members of theArmed Islamic Group (GIA).[4][21] |
| July–October 1995 | Bombings | 8 | 140+ | 1995 Paris Métro and RER bombings, 8 bomb attacks carried out by the Armed Islamic Group.[4] |
| 3 December 1996 | Bombing | 4 | 170 | 1996 Paris Métro bombing. Bomb attack against theRER BGare de Port-Royal in Paris, attributed to the Armed Islamic Group.[4] |
| 8 February 1998 | Shooting | 1 | 0 | Assassination ofClaude Érignac,prefect ofCorsica, by Corsican nationalists.[4] |
| 16 February 1999 | Hostage Taking | 0 | 0 | Hostage taking at the Kenya Embassy in Paris attributed to Kurdish protesters. This was in response to the Kenyan government deportingKurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leaderAbdullah Öcalan, who was wanted in Turkey on terrorism charges. No casualties were reported.[28] |
| 19 April 2000 | Bombing | 1 | 0 | Bomb attack against a branch ofMcDonald's inQuévert,Brittany, attributed to extremeBreton nationalists.[4] |
| Date | Type | Dead | Injured | Location and description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 July 2003 | Bombing | 0 | 16 | 2003 Nice bombing: Double attack against the regional directorates of customs and the treasury inNice, claimed by theNational Liberation Front of Corsica (FLNC).[4] |
| 8 October 2004 | Bombing | 0 | 10 | Bomb attack against the Indonesian Embassy in Paris, claimed by theArmed French Islamic Front [fr][29] |
| 1 December 2007 | Shooting | 2 | 0 | Killing of two members of the SpanishCivil Guard carrying out surveillance againstETA members inCapbreton,Landes.[4] |
| 16 March 2010 | Shooting | 1 | 0 | A French policeman was shot dead by members ofETA when he stopped their car at a routine checkpoint at Dammarie Les Lys, outside of Paris.[30] |
| 11 March 2012–22 March 2012 | Shooting | 7 | 5 | Toulouse and Montauban shootings, murders of three French paratroopers, and a French Rabbi and three French schoolchildren (aged eight, six and three), carried out over a period of 11 days byMohammed Merah.[4] |
| 9 January 2013– 10 January 2013 | Shooting | 3 | 0 | Triple Murder of Kurdish Activists in Paris. During the night of January 9, 2013, threeKurdish women's activists, Fidan Doğan, 28, Sakine Cansız, 54, (who is the co-founder of the PKK), and Leyla Şaylemez, 24, were murdered execution style at the Centre d'Information sur le Kurdistan.[31]French authorities arrested Ömer Güney for the murders. Güney died of a brain tumor in 2016 while in prison, however, in May 2019, French police reopened investigations into the murders due to speculation ofTurkish government involvement in the killings.[32][33] |
| 25 May 2013 | Stabbing | 0 | 1 | 2013 La Défense attack by an Islamist knifeman against a French soldier in the Paris suburb ofLa Défense. |
| 20 December 2014 | Stabbing | 0 (+1) | 3 | 2014 Tours police station stabbing. A man yelling "Allahu Akbar" attacked a police office inJoué-lès-Tours with a knife. He was killed and 3 police officers were injured. |
| 7 January 2015–9 January 2015 | Shooting | 17 (+3) | 22 | January 2015 Île-de-France attacks, 8 cartoonists, 2 guests, and two police officers are murdered at the satirical magazineCharlie Hebdo office in Paris, carried out by Saïd andChérif Kouachi, two Islamist gunmen who identified themselves as belonging toAl-Qaeda in Yemen.[4] During this period, a third Islamist gunman and close friend of the Kouachi brothers,Amedy Coulibaly was responsible for two shootings and an hostage taking at aHypercacher kosher market. He said he synchronized his attacks with the Kouachi brothers. Coulibaly had pledged allegiance to theIslamic State. |
| 3 February 2015 | Stabbing | 0 | 3 | 3 military men, guarding a Jewish community center in Nice, are attacked by Moussa Coulibaly (not related to the January Coulibaly attacks). |
| 19 April 2015 | Shooting | 1 | 0 (+1) | Unsuccessful attack against 2 churches inVillejuif by an Algerian jihadist. He killed a woman probably when trying to steal her car but accidentally shot himself in the leg, putting an end to his plans.[34] |
| 26 June 2015 | Beheading | 1 | 2 | Saint-Quentin-Fallavier attack. An Islamist delivery driver probably linked toISIS decapitated a man and rammed a company van into gas cylinders at theAir Products' gas factory in an attempt to blow up the building. |
| 21 August 2015 | Shooting and stabbing | 0 | 3 (+1) | 2015 Thalys train attack. An attempted mass shooting occurred on a train traveling from Amsterdam to Paris. Four people were injured, including the assailant who was subdued by other passengers.[35] |
| 13 November 2015–14 November 2015 | Shootings, hostage taking and suicide bombings | 131 (+7) | 413 | November 2015 Paris attacks. The single deadliest terrorist attack in French history. Multiple shooting and grenade attacks occurred on a Friday night; among the locations targeted were a music venue, sports stadium and several bar and restaurant terraces. Ninety persons were killed during a siege at anEagles of Death Metal concert inside theBataclan. French presidentFrançois Hollande evacuated from a football match betweenFrance andGermany at theStade de France, venue for theUEFA Euro 2016 Final, after three separate suicide bombings over the course of about 40 minutes.ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks and President Hollande named the Paris attacks an "'act of war'".[36] |
| 1 January 2016 | Vehicle ramming | 0 | 2 | A man rammed his car twice into 4 soldiers protecting a mosque inValence. He said he wanted to kill troops and jihadi propaganda images were found on his computer. A soldier and a civilian suffered minor injuries, while the other 3 troops were uninjured.[37] |
| 7 January 2016 | Stabbing | 0 (+1) | 0 | January 2016 Paris police station attack, a jihadist wearing a fake explosive belt attacked police officers in theGoutte d'Or district in Paris with a meat cleaver, while shouting "Allahu Akbar". He was shot dead and one policeman receiving injuries. TheISIS flag and a clearly written claim in Arabic,[clarification needed] were found on the attacker.[citation needed] |
| 13 June 2016 | Stabbing | 2 (+1) | 0 | 2016 Magnanville stabbing, a police officer and his wife, a police secretary, were stabbed to death in their home inMagnanville by a jihadist.ISIS claimed responsibility. |
| 14 July 2016 | Vehicle ramming | 86 (+1) | 434 | A 19-tonne cargo truckwas deliberately driven into crowds celebrating Bastille Day on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice. The driver was Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel, a Tunisian resident of France. The attack ended following an exchange of gunfire, during which Lahouaiej-Bouhlel was shot and killed by police. |
| 26 July 2016 | Stabbing | 1 (+2) | 1 | 2016 Normandy church attack, two terrorists attacked a church during a mass, killing an 86-year-old priest.ISIS claimed responsibility. |
| 3 February 2017 | Stabbing | 0 | 1 (+1) | 2017 Paris machete attack. A soldier near theLouvre museum opened fire on a man who attempted to enter the museum with a machete. The man was shouting "Allahu Akbar" and injured the soldier's scalp.[38] |
| 16 March 2017 | Letter bomb | 0 | 1 | Aletter bomb probably sent by Greek anarchist organizationConspiracy of Cells of Fire exploded at the French office of theIMF injuring one person.[39] |
| 18 March 2017 | Shooting | 0 (+1) | 2 | 2017 Orly Airport attack. A policeman was shot and injured in the Paris suburb ofGarges-les-Gonesse by an attacker who was later shot dead atOrly Airport near Paris after trying to grab a soldier's rifle.[40] |
| 20 April 2017 | Shooting | 1 (+1) | 3 | April 2017 Champs-Élysées attack. An Islamist opened fire on police officers on theChamps-Élysées.ISIS claimed responsibility.[41][42][43] |
| 6 June 2017 | Melee attack | 0 | 1 (+1) | 2017 Notre Dame attack. An Algerian Islamist attacked a police officer with a hammer in front ofNotre-Dame de Paris. He was shot by a second policeman and arrested. He had pledged allegiance toISIS.[44] |
| 19 June 2017 | Vehicle ramming | 0 (+1) | 0 | June 2017 Champs-Élysées car ramming attack. A jihadist rammed his car into a police car. He was killed and the Department of Interior stated that explosives, AKM assault rifle and handguns have been found in his car. The attacker had pledged allegiance toISIS.[45] |
| 9 August 2017 | Vehicle ramming | 0 | 7 (+1) | 2017 Levallois-Perret attack. A man rammed his car into soldiers near their barracks outside Paris. He was arrested on the highway after a shootout.[46] |
| 15 September 2017 | Melee attack | 0 | 2 | A man sought by police who are investigating a possible terrorist motive attacked two women with a hammer in Chalon-sur-Saône near Lyon about 15 minutes apart, by a man shouting in Arabic. Earlier a knife-wielding man attacked and was stopped by an anti-terrorist soldier on patrol in Paris Metro train station without injury.[47] |
| 1 October 2017 | Stabbing | 2 (+1) | 0 | 2017 Marseille stabbing. A man stabbed to death a 20-year-old woman and a 17-year-old girl atMarseille-Saint-Charles station. Attacker was shot dead. He was heard shouting 'Allahu Akbar'.ISIS claimed responsibility.[48] |
| 23 March 2018 | Shooting, hostage taking | 4 (+1) | 15 | Carcassonne and Trèbes attack. A gunman affiliated withISIS attacked and stole a car in Carcassonne, killing the passenger and wounding the driver. He arrived in Trèbes and shot at a group of police officers who were jogging. Then, he attacked a supermarket, where three people were killed and several others were injured.[49] |
| 1 May 2018 | Arson | 0 | 0 | Militants set fire to twoLa Poste vehicles along Rue Galilee inBouguenais,Pays de la Loire, France. There were no reported casualties in the attack. Action Directe Anarchiste (ADA) claimed responsibility for the attack.[50][51] |
| 12 May 2018 | Stabbing | 1 (+1) | 4 | 2018 Paris knife attack. AChechnyan-born French Muslim, armed with a knife, killed one pedestrian and injured several more near theGarnier Opera in Paris before being fatally shot by police. |
| 30 June 2018 | Bomb plot | 0 | 0 | Asadollah Asadi, an Iranian diplomat, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for attempting to plant a bomb at anopposition rally in Paris.[52][53] |
| 11 December 2018 | Shooting and stabbing | 5 (+1) | 11 | 2018 Strasbourg attack. A gunman opened fire just outside the Strasbourg Christmas Market, killing 5 and injuring 11. Killed in a gunfight with security forces two days later. |
| 5 March 2019 | Stabbing | 0 (+1) | 2 (+1) | An inmate at the high-securityCondé-sur-Sarthe penitentiary stabbed two prison guards. The attack was described as a terrorist incident by French Interior Minister.[54] |
| 24 May 2019 | Bombing | 0 | 14 | 2019 Lyon bombing. A package bomb packed with nails exploded in a centre city shopping district ofLyon, President Macron has called it an "attack."[55][56] The attacker had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.[57] |
| 3 October 2019 | Stabbing | 4 (+1) | 1 | Paris police headquarters stabbing. A man who worked at Paris' police headquarters stabbed four of his colleagues to death. The counter-terrorism head said that the attacker had radical and extremist religious views.[58] |
| 3 January 2020 | Stabbing | 1 (+1) | 2 | 2020 Villejuif stabbing. A man stabbed three people in Villejuif, a suburb of Paris, killing one person and wounding two others. The attacker was shot dead by police. The attacker was identified as Nathan C, a follower of salafism, an extremist sect of Islam. |
| 5 January 2020 | Attempted stabbing | 0 | 0 (+1) | French police on Sunday shot and wounded a man who had rushed toward a group of policemen with a knife shouting “Allahu akbar” in the eastern city of Metz. The suspect was on an official list of those monitored for links to militant groups.[59] |
| 3 February 2020 | Stabbing | 0 | 1 | In Metz, a police officer was injured when stabbed by an Islamic State sympathiser. |
| 4 April 2020 | Stabbing | 2 | 5 | 2020 Romans-sur-Isère knife attack. On April 4, 2020, Two people were killed and five wounded in a knife attack, in what the interior minister called a terrorist incident. Prosecutors said the suspect was a Sudanese refugee in his 30s who lived in Romans-sur-Isère the town of the attack.[60] |
| 27 April 2020 | Vehicle Ramming | 0 | 2 | Two police officers were seriously injured when a driver rammed his vehicle into them in Colombes, Hauts-de-Seine. The perpetrator was arrested, and a source stated that the man carried out the attack to "avenge events in Palestine". The attacker had pledged allegiance to Islamic State.[61] |
| 25 September 2020 | Stabbing | 0 | 2 | 2020 Paris stabbing attack. Four people were wounded (two serious), after a male attacked them with a butcher knife outside of the oldCharlie Hebdo magazine headquarters. The magazine had just re-published the magazine cover which sparked a similar, more brutal attack in 2015. French police have arrested two suspects and a terrorism inquiry has been launched.[62] |
| 16 October 2020 | Beheading | 1 (+1) | 0 | A Chechen refugeebeheaded Samuel Paty inÉragny-sur-Oise,[63] northwest of Paris. Paty was a middle school teacher who had recently held a class on freedom of speech in which he showed caricatures of the Muslim prophet Mohammed.[64] |
| 29 October 2020 | Stabbing | 3 | 0 | 2020 Nice stabbing, 3 were killed inNotre-Dame de Nice.[65] |
| 31 October 2020 | Shooting | 0 | 1 | A Greek Orthodox priest was seriously wounded when an assailant shot at him in Lyon.[66] |
| 17 March 2021 | Stabbing | 0 | 1 | An elderly man standing outside a Church had his throat slit by a knife wielding assailant.[67] |
| 23 April 2021 | Stabbing | 1(+1) | 0 | A French policewoman was stabbed to death outside a police station in Rambouillet. The attacker shouted 'allahu akbar' as he carried out the attack and was shot dead by French authorities. The attacker was aged 37 and was Tunisian-born. French president, Emmanuel Macron stated that France would 'never give in to Islamic extremism' in response to the attack.[68][69] |
| 28 May 2021 | Stabbing and shooting | 0(+1) | 3 | A French policewoman was critically injured after she was stabbed multiple times in the city of Nantes. The perpetrator was known to be a man in his 40s, called Ndiaga Dieye. After he stabbed the policewoman, he stole her pistol and fled the scene but was eventually found by French gendarmes, leading to a shootout in which two gendarmes were injured. The assailant was shot dead by French gendarmes. The assailant was known to authorities as a radical Islamist and had only been released from prison in March, 2021.[70][71][72][73] |
| 22 November 2022 | 0 | 1 | A 22-year-old man known to authorities as a radical Islamist attacked a police officer by shoutingAllah Akbar while in police custody at the Annecy police station, he was indicted for "willful violence against a person holding public authority, in relation with a terrorist enterprise". The National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor's Office is seized.[74] | |
| 23 December 2022 | Shooting | 3 | 3(+1) | 2022 Paris shooting. A 69-year-old man, identified only as William M, shot 3 people to death and injured 3 others in three locations inParis's 10th Arrondissement near theAhmet-Kaya Cultural Center, in an act that was confessed to have been motivated byanti-Kurdish andfar-right sentiments.[75] The attacker had previously been arrested for carrying out violence against refugees. Among the killed were a man who frequented Ahmet-Kaya, Mîr Perwer a Kurdish singer who was declared refugee due to his participation in thePeoples' Democratic Party (Turkey), andEmine Kara, a Kurdish rights activist who previously fought withRojava against theIslamic State, and had been preparing a demonstration in remembrance of three Kurdish activists who had been murdered in the 10th arrondissement almost 10 years prior.[76] The shooting sparked large protests.[77][78] |
| 13 October 2023 | Stabbing | 1 | 3 | Arras school stabbing. A teacher was killed, and three others were seriously wounded in a knife attack at the Gambetta-Carnot secondary school in Arras. The attacker is of Chechen origin and known to the security services for his involvement with Islamist extremism. |
| 3 December 2023 | Stabbing | 1 | 2 | 2023 Paris stabbing. A 26-year-old French-Iranian man attacks passers-by in the15th arrondissement of Paris. The assailant is said to have shouted "Allah Akbar", and to have had psychiatric problems and a history of terrorism.[79] |
| 22 February 2025 | Stabbing | 1 | 7 | 2025 Mulhouse stabbing attack. A 37-year-old Algerian man stabbed and killed a 69-year-old Portuguese man in the French city ofMulhouse. The suspect was on a terrorism watch list and the local prosecutor labeled the stabbing as a terrorist attack.[80] |
| 13 February 2026 | Stabbing | 0(+1) | 1 | A man known to authorities attempted to stab French officers during a ceremony at theArc de Triomphe. An officer sustained light wounds from the assailant before another officer shot the assailant. France's national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office said the assailant died of his wounds after being taken to hospital. The assailant was released from prison in December 2025 after serving 12 years for attempted murders in connection with a terrorist enterprise against three police officers at a train station in the Belgian city ofMolenbeek, Brussels in 2012.[81][82][83] |
| Year | Number of incidents | Deaths | Injuries |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 2020 | 9 | 7 | 14 |
| 2019 | 3 | 4 | 16 |
| 2018 | 3 | 10 | 30 |
| 2017 | 9 | 3 | 16 |
| 2016 | 12 | 89 | 451 |
| 2015 | 36 | 161 | 446 |
| 2014 | 14 | 1 | 15 |
| 2013 | 12 | 0 | 5 |
| 2012 | 65 | 7 | 8 |
| 2011 | 8 | 0 | 4 |
| 2010 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 2009 | 9 | 0 | 11 |
| 2008 | 13 | 0 | 1 |
| 2007 | 16 | 3 | 8 |
| 2006 | 34 | 1 | 3 |
| 2005 | 33 | 0 | 11 |
| 2004 | 11 | 0 | 10 |
| 2003 | 34 | 0 | 21 |
| 2002 | 32 | 0 | 4 |
| 2001 | 21 | 0 | 16 |
| 2000 | 28 | 4 | 1 |
| 1999 | 46 | 0 | 2 |
| 1998 | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| 1997 | 130 | 0 | 4 |
| 1996 | 270 | 18 | 114 |
| 1995 | 71 | 19 | 177 |
| 1994 | 97 | 7 | 22 |
| 1993 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 1992 | 126 | 9 | 12 |
| 1991 | 137 | 6 | 5 |
| 1990 | 30 | 3 | 3 |
| 1989 | 25 | 3 | 2 |
| 1988 | 54 | 6 | 19 |
| 1987 | 87 | 5 | 8 |
| 1986 | 95 | 25 | 306 |
| 1985 | 107 | 17 | 83 |
| 1984 | 145 | 15 | 57 |
| 1983 | 121 | 19 | 179 |
| 1982 | 62 | 17 | 143 |
| 1981 | 66 | 8 | 78 |
| 1980 | 94 | 20 | 74 |
| 1979 | 412 | 11 | 41 |
| 1978 | 59 | 21 | 17 |
| 1977 | 53 | 3 | 7 |
| 1976 | 58 | 7 | 10 |
| 1975 | 39 | 3 | 25 |
| 1974 | 29 | 3 | 32 |
| 1973 | 14 | 4 | 20 |
| 1972 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| 1971 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1970 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 2,979 | 448 | 1,779 |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Investigators found bombs of aerosol paint in his bag. No doubt to blot out the masterpieces of the museum.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)