It is believed the bomb scare was sparked by a call threatening news agency AFP, with the caller saying: “You have an hour, otherwise it’s going to blow.”
Agence France Presse immediately warned the national police who evacuated the building where AFP is located and also several businesses including the Fnac shopping centre in Place Kléber.
Images surfacing on Twitter show people scrambling out of the city centre in Strasbourg, France- which is also the formal seat of the European Parliament.
And police have cordoned off the scene – with locals being advised to avoid the areas of Kléber and Lafayette.
Customers are believed to have been barricaded in some shops while residents who live in a building opposite the Aubette, a historical building on Place Kléber, were asked to stay inside with the windows closed.
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Reports suggest police were called at around 6.30pm local time following reports of a malicious calling threatening the Red House near Place Kléber.
After evacuating the square, police later extended the safety perimeter to the passage of the Apple Pine.
Place Kléber is located in the heart of Strasbourg and is full of busy shops, cafes and restaurants, and offices, and is at the heart of the city’s commercial area.
The square was named after general Jean-Baptiste Kléber, born in Strasbourg in 1753.
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