Police in Paris foil attempted bomb attack outside Bank of America building

Incident in the city’s 8th arrondissement reportedly involved a homemade explosive device

French police prevented an apparent bomb attack outside a US bank in Paris on Saturday when they arrested a man about to set off a homemade explosive device, officials and sources close to the case said.

The incident occurred at about 3.30am (0230 GMT) in front of a Bank of America building in the city’s 8th arrondissement, a couple of streets away from the Champs-Élysées.

Police grabbed the man just after he had placed a device that held five litres of liquid, believed to be fuel, and an ignition system, one of the sources said.

The ignition component had 650g (23 ounces) of explosive powder inside it, according to an initial assessment. The device was taken to the Paris police’s forensics lab for full analysis.