LYON, France — A “low force” blast hit a busy pedestrian street on Friday in the French city of Lyon, injuring seven people as it shattered the glass from a refrigerated shop cooler in a bakery, a local official said.
France’s anti-terrorist office opened an inquiry into the blast and the anti-terrorism prosecutor, Remy Heitz, went to Lyon. The interior minister also was on site, and soldiers secured the area.
French media quoted the mayor of Lyon’s second district, Denis Broliquier, as saying that an image of the man who deposited a sack or suitcase that apparently exploded was captured by surveillance cameras.
Two news TV stations, BFMTV and CNews, showed a blurry image of a man on a bicycle that they said was the suspect.
French President Emmanuel Macron called the explosion an “attack” during a live interview about the European Parliament elections that run through Sunday.
Macron sent his sympathies to the injured, some of whom were taken to the hospital and others just went home.
Some victims sustained leg injuries and no wounds were life-threatening, said Kamel Amerouche, the regional authority’s spokesman.