Foreign Affairs

Package Explodes Injuring 8 In Lyon, France

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A package exploded Friday in the French city of Lyon injuring at least eight people including a young girl, reports say.

The suspected parcel bomb exploded outside a bakery on the street corner of Victor Hugo Street in Lyon and caused superficial minor injuries to at least eight people, according to the BBC.

Sources say that a man in his thirties on a moped drove down rue Victor Hugo and dropped a package in the street in front of the shop le Brioche Doree, according to Express UK. The package exploded a few minutes later at about 5:30 pm local time. A young girl reportedly was also injured in the blast.

Following the blast, soldiers secured the area of the explosion. Police and bomb squads arrived to investigate, according to the BBC.

The parcel was filled with nuts, screws and bolts, as reported by the French newspaper Le Progrès.

Paris authorities have opened a terror probe to ascertain if the attack was a terrorist attack, according to reports from CNN.

French President Emmanuel Macron reportedly described the explosion as “an attack.”

“There was an attack in Lyon, everyone knows,” Macron said, according to Express UK. “At this stage, there are no victims. There are wounded, so I want to spare a thought for the wounded and their families, of course.”

“I live above the Brioche Doree,” a witness told Le Progres, according to Express UK. “I heard the explosion, then I saw outside, several wounded people taking refuge in the pharmacy. I saw screws spilled on the floor.”

“I’m there, a few tens of meters away from the sign that exploded,” said Denis Broliquier, mayor of the district where rue Victor Hugo is located according to Express UK. Broliquier also said that the package was “intended to hurt.”

“The wounded were treated with great skill and speed by firefighters, including the eight-year-old girl who was injured. One thing is certain: it was a machine intended to hurt, it was an explosive device. I was warned by several direct witnesses, the explosive device was in a bag, deposited by a man, filmed by the CCTV of the city of Lyon.”

This is breaking news, updates to follow.

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