French circus lion attacks tamer and slashes his throat in front of audience

Animal seen on top of trainer while screaming children are heard in the background

Footage of the attack was filmed by an audience member (Facebook)

A tamer was savaged by a lion in front of an audience in northern France, footage has shown.

The animal can be seen on top of the trainer while screaming children are heard in the background.

The 30-year-old victim, who has been named by Le Parisien as Steeve Loberot, is thrown around the closure and dragged from one side to the other during the show in Doullens.

Members of staff from Buffalo Circus are seen in the video entering the cage to help the man and spray the animal to get it to back off.

The trainer is then seen stumbling out of the arena clutching his throat.

Exact details of the injuries sustained have not been revealed.

The man was however flown to hospital by helicopter and his current condition is unknown, La Voix Du Nord reported.

“It is my six-year-old girl who screams in the video – she cried all night,” one of the audience members said, according to The Sun.

It is not the first time a lion tamer has been attacked by an animal during a show.

Last year a crowd watched on in horror as a lion mauled a man to death in Egypt.

Footage showed Islam Shaheen, 35, being mauled inside an enclosure with two trainers and three lions.