A man has been shot and killed by security forces after attempting to seize a soldiers gun at Orly airport in Paris on Saturday morning, a media report said.

A soldier fired at the man who was then detained by security forces, as the police did a sweep of the airport in search of potential accomplices or explosives, reported the Mirror.

The man was later pronounced dead, France's BFM TV reported.

Parts of the airport were evacuated and passengers were not allowed to disembark after witnesses reported hearing shots.

Passengers wrote on Twitter that they had heard gunshots in the south terminal on Saturday morning and police were carrying out a security operation as they were told to flee.

A police spokesman wrote on Twitter: "Ongoing police operation. Do not cross the security perimeter, follow the instructions."

Passengers who were scheduled to catch flights later in the day were told not to come to the airport.

The incident, which happened at the "South" terminal, revived memories of a machete attack on soldiers at the Louvre museum in February. 

The attacker, a 29-year-old Egyptian, was shot by a soldier. The identity of the man was unknown.