Paris police open fire on car at Tour de France barricades

PARIS -- Paris police officers opened fire on a car that tried to crash through barricades about eight hours before the final arrival of the Tour de France cycling race on Sunday, a police official said.

The car escaped with its two occupants apparently unharmed after coming under fire around 11 a.m. (0900 GMT; 5 a.m. EDT) in the Place de la Concorde, where the cyclists make their final triumphant rounds to conclude the race, said Luc Poignant, a spokesman with the SGP police union. Police are hunting for the people in the car.

Tour de France race director Thierry Gouvenou said that he didn't have much information about the incident, but he didn't foresee any impact on the race.

The final stage of the Tour de France is due to begin at 4:35 p.m. (1435 GMT; 10:35 a.m. EDT), leaving from Sevres, a town southwest of Paris. The riders are then due to arrive in the French capital at around 5:30 p.m. (1530 GMT; 11:30 a.m. EDT) and do 10 laps around the Champs-Elysees before finishing at Place de la Concorde at about 7 p.m. (1700 GMT; 1 p.m. EDT).

Hundreds of thousands of people gather in the Place de la Concorde and the Champs Elysees for the race's final leg.

Poignant said officers were finishing setting up the barricades for the race when the car tried to crash through the barriers. Officers opened fire on the car, which ultimately drove away. Poignant told the BFM television network that no officers were injured.