Police say ‘minor incident’ in which they fired shots at car that tried to drive through barricades was not aimed at cycle race and was not terror-related

Police in Paris are searching for the four occupants of a car that struck a taxi and tried to drive through barricades set up near the Tour de France finish line on Sunday morning. Police opened fire on the vehicle during the incident, which happened hours before the arrival of the cyclists and spectators.



According to French reports, the shots were fired in Place de la Concorde on Sunday after the car, described as a black Renault Twingo, drove at high speed past the barriers. There were no reported injuries and police were searching for four occupants of the car.

Police later found the car, marked with bullet impacts, not far from the Place de la Concorde, according to a police official and a ranking official close to the investigation. They asked not to be identified by name because the investigation was ongoing.



The car carried two men and two women, one of whom was injured on her upper body, the ranking official said, citing a witness at a hotel where the group sought a glass of water for her. It was not immediately clear if the woman had been hit by a bullet.

While France remains on high alert for potential terrorism incidents in the wake of the murder of 17 people in January, when gunmen attacked the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish food store, initial reports suggested the incident was not a planned attack.

A police official told Reuters: “This is a minor incident. It wasn’t aimed at the Tour de France, it’s not terrorism, it’s just a simple refusal to comply, as there are many every day.”

According to RTL television, the car initially crashed into another vehicle in the Champs-Élysées, which connects with Place de la Concorde, before trying to flee police on duty in the street ahead of the Tour’s arrival.

The incident happened at about 11am local time (10am BST), according to Luc Poignant, a spokesman for the SGP police union. He said police are hunting for the people in the car.

The final stage of the Tour, as is traditional, ended with a circuit through central Paris followed by a sprint finish along the Champs-Élysées. The race’s director, Thierry Gouvenou, told Associated Press he had little information about the incident with the car but did not believe it would have any impact on the stage.