Paris police officers have opened fire on a car that tried to crash the barricades hours before the arrival of the Tour de France cycling race.
The driver escaped after refusing to obey police near the Place de la Concorde, Paris police said.
Luc Poignant, a spokesman with the SGP police union, said the car escaped with its two occupants apparently unharmed after coming under fire on Sunday in the Place de la Concorde.
Poignant said officers were finishing setting up the barricades for the race when the car tried to crash through the barriers. Officers opened fire on the car, which ultimately drove away.
"This is a minor incident. It wasn't aimed at the Tour de France, it's not terrorism, it's just a simple refusal to comply, as there are many every day," a police official told Reuters.
Hundreds of thousands of people were expected to gather in the Place de la Concorde and along Champs Elysees avenue for the final leg of the Tour de France later in the day.
No officers were injured.
- with Reuters
Two French police officers stand guarding the bridge in front of the Eiffel Tower prior to the arrival of the 2015 Tour de France in Paris Source: EPA
