People running in front of Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris

Footage has emerged of people running away from the scene where a man was reportedly shot dead by police in front of the cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, France on June 6.

"They put the whole area on lockdown, that's when I understood it was serious," he told Newsflare.

According to reports, a man tried to hit a police officer with a hammer and was shot in the thorax.