During the morning hours, an explosion occurred at the Russian consulate in Marseille, France. According to authorities in Moscow, it was allegedly an act of terrorism, but at present there appears to have been no personal injuries.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zacharova said in this regard, “the explosions on the territory of the Russian Consulate General in Marseille have all the hallmarks of a terrorist attack, we call on the country to accredit exhaustive and rapid measures to investigate, as well as measures to strengthen the security of the Russian foreign consulate.” The spokeswoman also commented on the outbreak of incendiary substances in the garden of the Russian consular compound in Marseille. Stanislav Oranskiy, Russian consul general in Marseille stressed that the explosion occurred inside the consulate.
Moscow agencies, citing local news sources, revealed some details about the dynamics of the explosion. It appears that two incendiary bottles that were thrown by unknown persons inside the garden of the Russian consulate and caused an explosion in the garden of the diplomatic building, without causing any damage.
In the same neighborhood where the Russian consulate is located are the offices of other consulates such as Egypt, Tunisia and Armenia. According to some experts, the explosion of the devices could be seen as a response related to French President Emmanuel Macron’s attempts to pose as a “European mediator” in the context of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.
