genie: time now for "60 minutes live around the world" here on "france 24." i'm genie godula. here are the headlines. a man wearing a suicide belt has been shot dead in a friends -- french suburb. france isk comes as marking the one-year anniversary of the charlie hebdo attack on january 7 of last year, when

officeunmen stormed the of the satirical cartoon. there is doubt over whether or in northuclear test korea was really a hydrogen bomb. european shares plunge after the chinese market are shut down for the second day in a week. we will get the latest in our business update. first, our top story. we would go now straight to the region of northern paris where police have shot dead a man who was wearing a suicide belt. he was wearing a suicide belt

while trying to enter a police station. markus: this seems to be a developing situation still. a man tried to get into a police in this area and appeared to be wearing a suicide vest. reuters, the news agency, is reporting he had been shouting "allahu akbar" as he walked toward the police station. they are coding and interior mitchell -- they are quoting an interior official when they say that. he was shot just outside the police station. police are now trying to heestigate whether or not

was wearing a suicide vest. a bombve sent in disposal unit and the robot to investigate that further. police are still very much on edge. they have shut down this entire area. we have police cordons all over this area -- pretty large area. this is close to a main thoroughfare through northern paris. police have asked shopkeepers to close their shutters and potentially close, at least for now, as they have this area under lockdown. there is also a pretty big ambulance presents and -- presence, and also the fire department. genie: we can see the pictures that is -- of the area that is on lockdown.

tell us more about this part of paris. what is it like? markus: this part of paris is called goutte-d'or. it is pretty densely populated. there is a large immigrant presence. there are a lot of immigrants in this area. i think it is fair to say that this area has been on edge ever since the charlie hebdo attacks once year ago -- one year ago and also since the november attacks. it is not lost on any of the locals that this comes on the first anniversary of the charlie hebdo -- , we seemrry, markus to be having some trouble hearing you with the wind. tell us again what kind of police presence there is at the moment. have shut down

the entire streets through goutte-d'or. they have been asking people to move back progressively as they have been investigating whether or not what appears to be an explosive is indeed an explosive device. police are still looking into that. the police officers that i have been speaking to say they are still looking into that, and that is why they do not want any civilians, essentially, close to the scene. genie: thank you for that. we will let you go and get more information for us. that was our markus karlsson, reporting from the 18th arrondissement in paris. out of the northern neighborhood was shot dead as he was trying to enter the northern police station there earlier today, about half an hour ago. he was apparently shouting

"allahu akbar" and could possibly be wearing a suicide belt. that area has been shut down, as you can see on the live pictures. we will be bringing you more as we get it here on "france 24." on thecident does come one-year anniversary of the charlie hebdo attacks here in paris. france has been on high alert since then and even more so mbere the attacks in nove that left one hundred 30 people dead. today, french president françois hollande was speaking at the police headquarters, paying tribute to the police officers who were killed. let's listen now to what president hollande had to say at the ceremony. hollande: we were gathered here in this same courtyard year ago to pay homage to the policemen killed by terrorists,

those same terrorists that committed their terror attacks against charlie hebdo and the supermarket. we find ourselves gathered here once again, two months after the accident war andied out in saint denis paris, which killed 130 people and left scores more injured. each time, it was the policemen and policewomen and gendarme who attackers.e that's why this ceremony is, above all, about gratitude and commemoration. genie: that is french president françois hollande speaking just within the past hour.

we were at the police headquarters for the president's speech. paying tribute to the victims of the attack last year, but the speech was also a very political one, trying to enshrine a state of emergency into the french constitution. reporter: yeah, francois hollande outlining the current state of emergency as not meant to last. quite a lot of clarifications are required, not only at the level of constitution. thestate of emergency -- definition of that and what it actually involves to be better involved -- outlined in the constitution. he also mentioned the police --icers and security forces the role of the police officers and security forces is to protect people. that means more resources for the security forces, more than

-- up to 9000 officers and military personnel to be hired over the course of five years. it also means more cooperation at a european level and at the intelligence-agency level in france, too it also. means modifying the penal system in france. suspects returning from nations such as syria and iraq -- he wants to facilitate the surveillance and attention of those potential suspects and also facilitate the use of service weapons by police officers, so they can better protect the public in a terrorist situation. that kind of political message, a pretty solid message, really, given the course of the past year in france has been marked by terrorist attacks. firm message coming from the government as it looks to move forward. a message of determination from

francois hollande. genie: france on high alert, something we are seeing again moments ago in northern paris, where police shot dead a man who reportedly has an explosive belt strapped to his body. he tried to get into the police station. a very dangerous job for the police, who have not always have the best reputation in france, but they do seem to be getting respect, if not popularity, these days -- gaining respect, if not popularity, these days. luke: you could probably hear them cheering the speech here at police headquarters in paris. -- once, the police the french police do not have the best reputation in various communities within the country. as it evolved that much over the past -- has evolved that much over the past 12 months? it is difficult to say.

they are in a constant situation of control. the reception they get from people around the country -- police been meeting with officers and people meeting with those officers as they go about their business. there is a sense of welcome amongst many communities and areas of paris. presence,that perhaps in response to the work of the police officers have been doing over the past 12 months. that is really up for debate. the role and position of police officers has changed dramatically in france over the past 12 months. genie: thank you for that, luke brown, reporting from the site where french president francois hollande was paying tribute to the police officers that were killed in the charlie hebdo that took place one year

ago. france very much on high alert since then. in perfect timing with that speech by francois hollande about an hour ago, a man in the 18th, apparently wearing a suicide vest, tried to storm a police station in that area. that attacker, who was also armed with a knife, reportedly shot dead by police. our french politics editor joins me now on the set. we care about incidents like this one within the past half hour in the 18th. it does seem to justify francois hollande's quest to enshrine the state of emergency in the constitution. reporter: he probably did not envision such timing before his speech and this attack reported in the north of paris. this attack obviously on the day commemorating the one year of the charlie hebdo attacks here in paris.

obviously, a very symbolic attack. we have to wait for the results, but, from what we are hearing, the knife wilting -- wielding assailant was wearing either of vest or an explosive device and reportedly shouted "god is great," goutte-d'or "allahu akbar -- "god is great," "allahu akbar." we know that schools -- children have been asked to remain inside of the facilities because this might not be an isolated attack. -- as aght be others way for people to have their own "commemoration, those quote if i may use that word -- "commemoration," if i may use that word, of the charlie hebdo attacks. november's -- last

november's attacks, this has happened before. we know the police, the military has been attacked at some points. in theery presence street -- these images of armed police in front of that police asian in the 18th -- police station in the 18th arrondissement is very usual -- are very unusual. state oficative of the emergency that will last until the end of february and could be enshrined in the constitution as a way to allow the police to use their weapons in a much freer way, if i may use that expression, but also conduct searches, put people under house arrest much more easily than before. this, of course, is a concern for human rights groups, but given what has happened over the

last few years and what has just happened seemingly in the north of paris, it seems like most people would support such measures. genie: thanks for that, marc. back to the 18th arrondissement for the latest developments on what happened there about 45 minutes ago. markus karlsson is on the scene for us. what can you tell us? markus: this is an ongoing situation still. -- they have cordoned off the area. there is a huge police presence here. soldiers have turned out as well. armed soldiers are holding civilians back as they are trying to make sure that nobody -- no civilians get close to the scene of the events in the last few hours or so. what we know is that a man armed with a knife tried to get into on rue de laation,

goutte-d'or in this area of northern paris. it also appears he was wearing a suicide vest. police have told me they are trying to investigate whether, indeed, this is an explosive device. the bomb squad has sent in a robot to inspect the body of this man, because he was shot dead, it appears, just outside the police station. there is always a police car outside of the police station -- police guard outside of that station, and it appears that he was stopped at that level. there is a large security presence on the ground. police have shut down the entire street and parts of this major thoroughfare in the north of paris.

it is reminiscent of one of the scenes in the november attack where one of the attackers left a car. they know that something has been going on. -- there is a lot of worry. genie: have you had a chance to speak to any eyewitnesses to what happened earlier today? markus: no eyewitnesses so far. people have been quick to turn to social networks, to twitter. they are asking what has been happening in the past few hours or so. people are talking about it very much. people who i spoke to -- police haveou that told shopkeepers in the area to close down for now. they have been asked to lower

their shutters. it appears that police consider this very much an ongoing situation. before you go, give us a brief description of the area with the people who might not be familiar with it. is fairlyis area densely populated. isis an area that multicultural. immigrants, with their origins in north africa and west africa, live here alongside other communities. this is a multicultural, densely populated area. genie: thank you so much for that. i'm going to bring in marc perelman, who is on the set with us, our french politics editor.

there have been some new developments. marc: there is still some uncertainty. it could be that it was a fake explosive belt. we do know that he held a knife and that he was shot down by the police. just to bring some news, according to the spokesperson of the interior minister in charge of the police here, he seems to have acted on his own, which is obviously important information, if it is true, because it means that the concerns of the police and why we see a lockdown of the whole area -- that he might have accomplices -- is not a real threat. so, obviously, there might be other things happening or maybe copycat attacks. we have seen that in the past. but from the interior minister, what they have gathered is that he acted on his own. genie: it is true that would be a reassuring development.

there has been this fear of so-called "homegrown terrorism," these networks in france itself. marc: and those are not networks anymore, it seems. you have individuals who decide to act on their own because of their ideology, their motives, whatever. we still don't know who that person was, his background. this is really what they fear. it is no more coordinated efforts or something well prepared. we have seen this, tragically, on november 13. but sometimes, an individual taking a kitchen knife gets out on the street and attacks a police officer, a holy site, military, or a firefighter. there is very little you can do. schools,it comes to they are more protected than before, but much less than in

the united states, for instance. obviously, this is what keeps the police on edge and why we saw the french president today announced that he wants to give them more means, financial, legal, and human. genie: it does seem that those means are necessary. many critics of the security forces in france say they are stretched to their limits. is just fact. there are not enough police officers. there are not enough intelligence officers. we have discussed at length here how many of the perpetrators of the attack back in january and in november were at some point monitored by the intelligence services because they were on the radar screen, but, many years they laid low and fell from the radar screen, then eventually acted. as many officials have told us, you cannot follow everyone all the time.

that being said, you need more means, and this is what the government is doing, but they are often playing catch-up, because it takes time to train people to make sure they know what they are doing. when you are confronted with such a threat that is very va ried and can go from an organized network to a lone wolf, it is nearly impossible to prevent terrorist attacks from happening, in france or elsewhere. genie: we will go back now live to the scene of this attack in the 18th arrondissement of paris, where clovis casali is standing by. clovis, talk us through what happened. lovis: we do know that a man came to the police station that is located only 100 meters away from where i'm standing, down that road, rue de la goutte d'or , in the heart of this multicultural neighborhood. the man arrived at the police "tation screaming "allahu akbar and he had a knife in his hand.

then he was gunned down by the the policeutside station. this man arrived at the police station, tried to attack those security forces, who responded by shooting and killing him, it appears. there are also some reports that he might have been wearing explosives. that is not confirmed. they could be fake explosives. we have not got the information yet, the confirmation from authorities. the interior minister, bernard cazeneuve, is making his way to this neighborhood of the goutte-d'or. this happens exactly one year after the charlie hebdo attacks, practically at the same time the charlie hebdo attacks happened last year, around 11:30. and this attack against the police nation in the -- police station in the 18th arrondissement has happened

around the same time. what i can tell you is there is a heavy police presence all around the area. the whole area around the police station behind me has been cordoned off. locals who live in france around that police station -- a few managed to make their way to their flats, but, of course, they are searched. the row searching from police -- thorough searching from police forces. you also have firemen and emergency services who have made their way to the area. heavy police presence as the attack happened about an hour parisre in this neighborhood of goutte-d'or. genie: we will let you get back to work and get more information for us. we will get you more information as this develops. i will bring back in our french politics editor, marc perelman, who is with me here on the set.

you have more information on the suicide vest that some sources are saying was, indeed, fake. marc: we will have to wait until -- wait to hear from the interior minister, who is making his way to the 18th arrondissement, the police station where this attack happened, and maybe the paris prosecutor who will be in charge of the investigation. obviously, the investigation was immediately launched after the attack. another important information that was given by the spokesperson for the interior minister is that -- he said that, from all the information he has gotten, the attacker was acting on his own. obviously, the worry is that this is only maybe part of an attack, a coordinated attack that might also involve other targets. he said that, from what they gathered, he acted on his own.

obviously, it is too early to speculate, but if he only had a knife and was wearing a fake explosive belt, it doesn't seem like it was something that was really thought through and coordinated in order to do a lot of damage. we will have to wait and see. we have seen attacks a year ago or so in police stations. in one case, i remember someone who had psychological problems. we will have to see what was really behind this. for now, what we have is someone was shot down by police after trying to attack a police station in the 18th arrondissement with a knife. let's just remember that after 13th attacks and the communiqué taking responsibility for that -- the islamic state celebrated the attackers and mentioned the 18th arrondissement as one of the places where an attack allegedly took place.

it did not happen in the 18th arrondissement. there might be no connection with what happened today. as markus karlsson was on hand over their earlier today said, people are --

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