French police are hunting a suspected suitcase bomber after an explosion in the central city of Lyon that injured 13 people.
The suspect was captured on security video leaving a bag in front of a bakery shortly before an explosion occurred at about 5.30pm local time on Friday, police sources and local mayor Denis Broliquier said.
The blast happened at about 5.30pm on Friday. Source: AAP
The number of wounded stood at 13 people, with 11 taken to hospitals. None of the injuries was life-threatening. The casualties comprised eight women, a 10-year-old girl, and four men.
President Emmanuel Macron characterised the incident as an "attack" when the news broke during a live YouTube interview ahead of Sunday's European elections. "My thoughts are with the injured," he said.
French police forces secure a perimeter after a suspected package exploded in rue Victor Hugo in the center of Lyon. Source: AAP
Paris anti-terrorism prosecutors opened an investigation as police said they were treating the blast as an attempted homicide, and Interior Minister Christophe Castaner headed to the scene.
The partially masked suspect appeared in security camera footage wheeling a bicycle to the scene, before leaving a bag outside a branch of Brioche Doree, a popular bakery chain.
Police sources described the suspected attacker as a European or North African male, seen wearing beige Bermuda shorts, an army-green scarf or head wrap and dark glasses.
Soon after he left, the blast rained metal bolts on passers-by in front of the premises on rue Victor Hugo, several blocks from the city's main station, according to police.
Police forces across France have been instructed to increase security in public places and event venues, Mr Castaner said.
The women's World Cup soccer tournament is scheduled to start in France on June 7. Lyon will host the semi-finals and then the final on July 7.
High alert
France has been on high alert following a wave of deadly jihadist terror attacks since 2015 which have killed more than 250 people.
"It's an area in the very centre of Lyon, a major street," the city's deputy mayor in charge of security, Jean-Yves Secheresse, told BFM television.
"These areas are highly secured, the police are continually present," as were patrols by soldiers deployed in a long-running anti-terror operation, he said.
Lyon is the third-biggest city in France. The population of the city plus its extensive suburbs is 2.3 million.
The most recent package bomb in France dates back to December 2007, when an explosion in front of a law office in Paris killed one person and injured another. Police never found who carried out that attack.
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