A female employee of the International Monetary Fund was injured today when a letter bomb posted to the world lender's Paris office blew up as she opened it, Reuters reports.
The explosion was caused by a homemade device, the head of the French capital's police force Michel Cadot said.
Cadot said there had been some recent telephone threats but it was not clear if these were linked to the incident at the IMF's offices.
A police source said the woman who opened the letter suffered burns on her face and arms but her life was not in danger.
French President Francois Hollande said French authorities would do all they could to find those responsible for the incident. He said: "We are still facing an attack, there is no other word against a parcel bomb. We are always targeted."
IMF chief Christine Lagarde condemned the explosion as "a cowardly act of violence."
"I reaffirm the IMF's resolve to continue our work in line with our mandate. We are working closely with the French authorities to investigate this incident and ensure the safety of our staff," she said.
A militant Greek group, Conspiracy of Fire Cells, claimed responsibility for a parcel bomb mailed to German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on Wednesday, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the Paris bomb.
