PARIS — A package bearing homemade bombs blew up Thursday in a lawyer’s office in central Paris, killing the woman who opened it. The motive for the unusual attack remained unclear.
The building also housed an unrelated law firm co-founded by President Nicolas Sarkozy, as well as a Holocaust research foundation, although officials said they did not appear to be targeted.
“It is a truly atrocious act,” Sarkozy spokesman David Martinon said on France-Info radio.
A messenger delivered the package, a wooden box that turned out to contain two homemade explosive devices, Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said.
The office secretary opened the package and both explosives went off, killing her and seriously injuring a lawyer. Prosecutor Jean-Claude Marin said the secretary had no reason to suspect anything out of the ordinary.
The package appeared to have been addressed to the law firm, which handles civil and commercial cases, Marin said. He said the nature of the explosive and its strength remain unclear.
Anti-terrorist agents were investigating. An official close to the investigation said the bombing did not bear the hallmarks of Islamic or Corsican terrorists, who have staged attacks in France in the past but often use bigger bombs and different methods. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.
Alliot-Marie said the injured attorney’s life was not in danger despite “very serious” wounds. A police official identified him as Olivier Brane, a specialist in property law, and said he suffered facial injuries and was operated on at a Paris hospital.
The official said the letter was addressed to Brane and to the director of the office.
