An explosion has occurred at the Russian consulate in the southern French city of Marseille, according to reports.
The French interior ministry confirmed that plastic bottles were thrown at the consulate’s wall, with one of them exploding.
A second device was thrown but failed to detonate. Fortunately, there were no injuries, and all staff, including the Russian consul, were unharmed.
The Kremlin has reacted by calling for heightened security at all Russian consulates. Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for the Kremlin, emphasised the need to increase safety measures following the incident.
The explosion took place inside the consulate building on Friday, as confirmed by Russia’s consul general in Marseille, Stanislav Oranskiy, in a report by Russian news outlet RBC. The French fire service and a bomb disposal expert were dispatched to the site.
Though the extent of the damage is unclear, Russian officials have described the incident as potentially a “terrorist attack” and called for a thorough investigation by French authorities.
Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that France should take swift action and enhance security at Russian diplomatic missions.
“We demand (from France) exhaustive and prompt measures to investigate, as well as steps to strengthen the security of Russian foreign missions,” Zakharova said.
This attack comes on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Although Marseille has a diverse population, it does not have a particularly large Russian community.
French cities, including Marseille, have witnessed protests against Russia’s war in Ukraine since 2022.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing, but authorities have not revealed details about the suspect or a possible motive.
