Local media say the 39-year-old lived in the city's suburbs, and had been seen as a potential Islamist radical. The gunman wounded two police officers before being shot dead by security forces on the Champs Elysees.
A pump-action shotgun and knives were found in his car. French media named the man as Karim Cheurfi, 39, from the eastern Paris suburb of Chelles.
Another man suspected of possible links to the attack has turned himself in to Belgian police.