Police forces were hunting for a man who left a parcel bomb in the Cathedral of Toulouse, Southwestern France, on Friday, ahead of the first round of voting in France's presidential race on April 10, police said.
The man deposited the parcel around 0700 GMT at the altar of the Cathedral in central Toulouse during mass before running away. The incident also took place a few weeks before the Easter celebrations.
Bomb disposal units intervened on the artisanal device, an acid container, that did not explode due to malfunctions.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin tweeted on Friday morning: "Thanks to the rapid intervention of the bomb disposal services, the police operation in Toulouse is over. No casualties. Thanks to all law-enforcement forces,".
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten)
