Police close a street in Lyon, France, Friday after an explosion injured eight. Photo by L. Ferchild/Twitter

May 24 (UPI) -- Authorities are investigating an explosion in Lyon, France, Friday that injured eight people.

The city prosecutor's office said it suspects a parcel exploded, but none of the injuries are life-threatening. French President Emmanuel Macon, informed of the blast during a televised interview, called it an "attack."


The counter-terrorism prosecutor's office in Paris immediately began investigating.

"I was a block away and I heard it," Canadian travel writer Kathy Buckworth said. "They locked us in the store. I came out 10 minutes later and the police, et cetera, were arriving."

Buckworth added that the explosion was "like a bomb, extremely loud."

The blast occurred near a bakery in a busy Lyon shopping area, the regional authority communications chief said.