Authorities identified the man as Ziyed Ben Belgacem, a 39-year-old French national of north African origin born in Paris.

The father and brother of the attacker, who had at least one conviction for a drugs offence, have been taken into custody, police said. 

The  man hurled himself at three air force personnel patrolling a passenger terminal on Saturday morning under counter-terrorism measures introduced after the 2015 Paris attacks.

He wrestled the patrolwoman to the ground and snatched her assault rifle, grabbing her around the neck and fleeing into a McDonald’s. The two servicemen on patrol with her fired three shots “to protect their colleague and the public,” Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French defence minister, said.

The attacker, who had previous drugs and theft convictions, was wanted for questioning by police in connection with criminal investigations. His father and brother were taken into custody when they went voluntarily to a police station after receiving a text from him, saying  “I’ve done something stupid. I’ve fired at police.”