A man aged 69 has been arrested in connection with the shooting near a Kurdish cultural centre, the prosecutor's department in the French capital said.

The motive for the shooting was not immediately clear.

"A gun attack has taken place. Thank you to the security forces for their swift action," Emmanuel Gregoire, the deputy mayor, tweeted.

"Thoughts for the victims and those who witnessed this drama."

There is no further information on how seriously injured the victims were.

Paris police said they were dealing with an incident on the Rue d'Enghien before urging the public to avoid the area, and officers taped off the area in the 10th arrondissement of the French capital.

One witness told French news agency AFP that seven or eight shots had been fired, sparking chaos in the street.