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Four toddlers and two pensioners have been stabbed in a knife attack in the tranquil French mountain town of Annecy and the government says the suspected assailant is a Syrian refugee.

A video of the attack, taken by a bystander and verified by Reuters, showed the assailant jump a low wall into a children's playground and repeatedly lunge at a child in a stroller, pushing aside a woman who tries to fend him off.

Two of the wounded children and one adult were in hospital in a life-threatening condition while the other victims were less seriously hurt.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said the suspected attacker, who was in police custody, was a 31-year old Syrian citizen who was granted asylum in Sweden 10 years ago.

He had entered France legally, she said, and was carrying Swedish identity documents and a Swedish driving licence.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said France had rejected an asylum request made by the suspect earlier this month, and that he had been carrying "certain Christian religious insignia".

Darmanin also told TF1 news that the Syrian refugee had obtained asylum in Sweden and made asylum requests in Switzerland and Italy as well.

The local prosecutor leading the investigation said there was no indication that terrorism was the assailant's motivation.

The suspect was under investigation for attempted murder.

The four children were just toddlers, aged between 22 months and three years, Annecy prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis told reporters.

One of them was a British citizen and another was Dutch, Bonnet-Mathis said.

As the assailant, who wore a blue-chequered headscarf and sunglasses, slashed at his victims, one bystander tried to stop him by throwing his backpack at him, the video showed.

Police have not publicly released the suspect's name.

A woman identified as his ex-wife told BFM TV that her former partner was a Christian.

"He does not call me for four months. (Our relationship) stopped because we lived in Sweden and he did not want to live in Sweden anymore," she told BFM TV, adding that he had not previously shown a violent streak.

French news agency AFP reported the assailant was carrying a prayer book on his person when he launched his attack.

The incident took place about 9.45am on Thursday in Le Paquier park in Annecy, a town in the French Alps.

"He clearly targeted the babies," a witness who gave his name as Ferdinand told BFM TV.

President Emmanuel Macron said his country was in shock, calling the attack "an act of absolute cowardice".

Swedish court documents seen by Reuters showed the suspect - whose name Reuters confirmed with police - was fined for fraud in Sweden in 2022 for claiming unemployment and student benefits at the same time.

The ruling said that he had struggled financially and at one point had to sell his wife's jewellery to make ends meet.

The attack ended when police shot at the attacker and then overpowered him, an eyewitness video verified by Reuters showed.

He was not injured, the prosecutor said.

Several witnesses described Le Paquier park as an usually tranquil place popular with tourists for its stunning views of Lake Annecy and the mountains.

"It's a place where babysitters and parents take young children to play. I often see around 15 toddlers there in the morning, and the atmosphere is fantastic," said Yohan, who works at an ice-cream parlour just opposite the park.

France has been shocked by a number of violent incidents over the past few months, including the fatal stabbing last month of a nurse in the northern town of Reims.

Macron has denounced what he calls a "de-civilisation process" in the country, while opposition MPs say his government has been too lax on law and order.

"Nothing more abominable than to attack children," National Assembly Speaker Yael Braun-Pivet said on Twitter.

Parliament observed a minute of silence to mark the incident.

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Wellwishers have laid flowers at the site in the French mountain town of Annecy where an attacker stabbed four toddlers, as a shocked nation paid tribute to a backpack-wearing student who tried to stop the assault.

Two of the children were in a critical but stable condition in hospital a day after the attack, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said. The other two - and two pensioners who were also wounded - had less serious injuries, officials said.

President Emmanuel Macron, who called the attack an "act of absolute cowardice", headed to the nearby city of Grenoble on Friday where three of the four are being cared for.

Among the children wounded in the attack where a British national and a Dutch national.

A video of the attack, taken by a bystander and verified by Reuters, showed the assailant jump a low wall into a children's playground and repeatedly lunge at a child in a stroller, pushing aside a woman who tried to fend him off.

France hailed the bravery of a young Catholic pilgrim who came face-to-face with the assailant and used his backpack as a shield as he sought to block the attack. French media dubbed the 24-year-old "the backpack hero".

The management and philosophy student has identified himself only as Henri.

"All I know is I was not there by chance," he told the CNews television network.

"It was unthinkable to do nothing ... I followed my instincts and did what I could to protect the weak."

His Facebook and Instagram accounts were flooded with messages giving thanks for his bravery.

"May God bless you ... you did what you could at that moment, you did not give up, you did not run. You are an angel," Instagram user Mag Capone wrote on his site.

A mass will be held in Annecy Cathedral in tribute to the victims and their families later on Friday, church authorities said.

Police have arrested a 31-year old Syrian national who was granted asylum in Sweden 10 years ago, Borne said on Friday.

He had entered France legally, she said, and was carrying Swedish identity documents and a Swedish driving licence. Sweden and France are both members of the Schengen Area, the world's largest passport-free zone which allows the unrestricted movement of people between 26 European countries.

The attack has laid bare the tensions between Europe's free movement rights and the pressure governments in countries like France and Italy are coming under from voters to toughen immigration laws as societies shift rightwards politically.

One of the two pensioners caught up in the attack told Reuters he had been sitting on a park bench when the attacker approached on the run.

"He probably wanted to create one more victim," said Youssouf, who asked to withhold his family name.

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Queensland forward Tino Fa'asuamaleaui has defended his ball- carrying style as he sweats on the charge sheet after Wests Tigers hooker Apisai Koroisau broke his jaw in a tackle on the Titans skipper.

Fa'asuamaleaui was put on report for dangerous contact after he collected Koroisau in the face with his ball-carrying arm in the Titans' 28-12 win on Thursday night.

Koroisau went to hospital and will have surgery on Friday in Sydney. Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens said he would miss at least six weeks of action and is out of the State of Origin series.

Fa'asuamaleaui is a certainty to be selected for the Maroons in game two of the Origin series in Brisbane on June 21, but the match review committee (MRC) will have their own say on Friday.

The Titans skipper was charged for dangerous contact against Canterbury in round 12 when he collected Reed Mahoney in the face with his forearm while in possession.

He was fined $1800 for a grade one offence on that occasion and cleared to play in game one of the Origin series in Adelaide.

Analysing the Koroisau incident on Channel Nine after the game, Maroons assistant coach Cameron Smith said that it was a different style of case to the incident with Mahoney.

"Looking at the incident, I am trying to find what is illegal about the action," he said.

"If you actually see the bump which he makes on Api Koroisau, it is with his ball-carrying arm ... his right arm. Whereas you look at the last time he was charged, a few weeks ago, and it was when he led with his left arm into Reed Mahoney.

"I don't know what he is meant to do with that ball-carrying arm. Is he meant to make it disappear?"

After the clash against the Tigers, the Titans skipper defended his technique while running with the ball. He said he'd been taking the same approach since he came into the NRL and that sometimes players "put their head in the wrong position".

"It is a contact sport," he said.

"I am running as hard as I can. He is getting up to try and stop me and came off second best. I am hoping he is alright and I am hoping I am alright too."

He was asked whether he was concerned he would miss the Origin showdown in Brisbane.

"I think it is similar to the other week (after the Mahoney incident). It is just the media making me more worried than anything, just trying to build it up," he said.

"I hope I get selected (for Queensland) first, and if I am I hope I am in the team."

If he's not, or even if he is, Fa'asuamaleaui said fellow Titans prop Moeaki Fotuaika deserved a recall to the Queensland team for the first time since 2021.

The Maroons are already without key forwards Jai Arrow (syndesmosis) and Tom Gilbert (shoulder surgery) for the rest of the series and Fotuaika is one of at least seven players in contention.

"I think he has been our best player mostly every week," Fa'asuamaleaui said.

"Obviously there have been some injuries and I am hoping his name is tossed up. He is the guy that does all the little stuff and works hard. I am hoping he gets picked in the team."

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Queensland forward Tino Fa'asuamaleaui is free to play in Origin II after escaping sanction for raising his forearm on Api Koroisau and ending the Wests Tigers hooker's own Origin hopes.

Fa'asuamaleaui was placed on report for dangerous contact after his ball-carrying arm contacted Koroisau's face in the Titans' 28-12 win on Thursday night.

The Tigers and NSW rake was taken to hospital with a broken jaw and booked for surgery in Sydney on Friday.

Coach Tim Sheens confirmed his skipper would miss at least six weeks, including the remainder of NSW's Origin campaign.

A lock for selection in the second Origin game on June 21, Fa'asuamaleaui faced a nervous wait for the match review committee's charge sheet on Friday morning.

The 23-year-old was charged for a similar offence in round 12 when his forearm made high contact with Canterbury captain Reed Mahoney, but escaped suspension with a fine on that occasion.

The MRC declined to charge Fa'asuamaleaui on Friday morning, paving the way for him to line up in Game II, when the Maroons have the chance to close out the series.

The Titans skipper defended his technique while running with the ball.

He said he'd always adopted the same approach since joining the NRL, adding sometimes players "put their head in the wrong position".

"It is a contact sport," said Fa'asuamaleaui.

"I am running as hard as I can. He is getting up to try and stop me and came off second best. I am hoping he is alright.

"I think it is similar to the other week (after the Mahoney incident). It is just the media making me more worried than anything, just trying to build it up."

Analysing the Koroisau incident on Channel Nine after the game, Maroons assistant coach Cameron Smith said it was a different style of case to Fa'asuamaleaui's incident with Mahoney.

"Looking at the incident, I am trying to find what is illegal about the action," he said.

"If you actually see the bump which he makes on Api Koroisau, it is with his ball-carrying arm ... his right arm.

"Whereas you look at the last time he was charged, a few weeks ago, and it was when he led with his left arm into Reed Mahoney.

"I don't know what he is meant to do with that ball-carrying arm. Is he meant to make it disappear?"

Fa'asuamaleaui believed fellow Titans prop Moeaki Fotuaika deserved to play his first game for Queensland since 2021 after another strong performance against the Tigers.

The Maroons are already without key forwards Jai Arrow (syndesmosis) and Tom Gilbert (shoulder surgery) for the rest of the series and Fotuaika is one of at least seven players in contention.

"I think he has been our best player mostly every week," Fa'asuamaleaui said.

"Obviously there have been some injuries and I am hoping his name is tossed up. He is the guy that does all the little stuff and works hard. I am hoping he gets picked in the team."

© AAP 2023