The Russian Consulate in Marseille was in lockdown on Monday morning following explosions inside. Emergency workers were inside while special forces police and soldiers secured the perimeter of the building in the southern French city. By 9.30am, there were some 30 emergency workers dealing with a fire inside the consulate.
The explosions were caused by two Molotov Cocktails being thrown over the walls of the property, a Marseille police source confirmed. “There were two loud explosions and material damage, but nobody was injured,” said the source. “The building remains in lockdown, and a criminal enquiry has been launched.”.
The Russian foreign ministry claimed that the explosion “all the hallmarks of a terrorist attack” without providing any evidence. The blasts came on the third anniversary of Russia’s ground invasion of Ukraine, and on the day French president Emmanuel Macron travels to Washington for an emergency meeting about the war with President Donald Trump.
