The auto crashed into a parked vehicle in the Champs-Élysées, which intersects with Place de la Concorde, and then took off with police in pursuit.
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The auto tried to crash through security barriers being set up for the Tour de France final, which will pass through the city later today. They continue to search for the auto.
Paris is on edge since January attacks by Islamic extremists on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a kosher grocery left 20 people dead, including the three attackers.
The scene at Place de la Concorde, where the incident occurred. “It wasn’t aimed at the Tour de France, it’s not terrorism”, a police official told Reuters. And, like every year, the contestants dream of many things: winning on the Alps and Pyrenees, wearing the yellow jersey, and riding down the Champs-Elysees.
This year’s Tour de France had been advertised as an exciting battle royale between four great riders yet it panned out as an underwhelming contest as Chris Froome’s rivals failed to live up to expectations.
This tends to make the final stage of Le Tour a relatively hectic affair towards the final, and it is often hard to know who will get the win.
Tour de France race director Thierry Gouvenou said he didn’t have much information about the incident, but didn’t foresee any impact on the race.
The auto carried two men and two women, one of whom was injured on her upper body, the ranking official said, citing a witness at a hotel where the group sought a glass of water for her. It was not immediately clear if the woman had been hit by a bullet. “But 99 percent were absolutely fantastic and just cheering, that’s what the Tour de France is about”.
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Italian Nibali possibly lost the Tour at the point where he made his mark last year, in the second stage when he was trapped behind a bunch split as high winds blew through the Netherlands, where Froome started to chip time away from his rivals.
