Explosion at the Russian Consulate in Marseille: two CNRS researchers acknowledge the facts
The two suspects are suspected of throwing several plastic bottles that caused an explosion in the consulate gardens. The incident has been described as a "terrorist attack" by Moscow.
Two CNRS researchers suspected of having thrown devices that caused a detonation in the gardens of the Russian consulate in Marseille have admitted the facts in police custody, Le Figaro learned from the prosecutor's office, confirming information from La Provence . The two men, an engineer and a chemist, are still in police custody, Nicolas Bessone, the public prosecutor of Marseille, said late in the evening. Arrested during a demonstration in support of Ukraine, they indicated that the mixture contained in the plastic bottles thrown in the garden of the consulate was a cocktail of nitrogen and chemical substances, Nicolas Bessone confirmed.
These two individuals, adults, who were still in police custody on Tuesday morning, are implicated in an investigation opened on charges of "damage by incendiary or explosive substance" and entrusted to the Organized and Specialized Crime Division (DCOS). On Monday morning, the Marseille firefighters were called by the consulate staff following an "explosion" in its gardens. Two individuals were then filmed by the consulate's surveillance cameras at the time of the detonation according to our information.
Suspecting an attack, all the staff had then taken refuge in the building and the police supported by bomb disposal experts had been deployed throughout the area. Early in the morning, a police source reported the presence of at least two " Molotov cocktails " , information quickly denied by the police headquarters of Bouches-du-Rhône, instead mentioning the presence of three "50 centilitre plastic soda bottles" whose contents were sent to a laboratory for analysis.
These explosions did not cause any injuries and did not cause any material damage. The building's staff were evacuated out of danger by emergency services shortly before noon. The Russian Consul General in Marseille, Stanislav Oranskiy, quickly confirmed that the explosion had taken place inside the consulate.
The Russian Foreign Ministry had denounced what it considered to be a "terrorist attack" occurring a few days after the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine . "We demand that the host country quickly take full investigative measures, as well as measures to strengthen the security of the Foreign Ministry's establishments," its spokesperson said. "France condemns any attack on the security of diplomatic premises," the Quai d'Orsay had responded.
lefigaro
