Gare de Lyon, one of Paris‘s busiest and oldest railway stations, was evacuated Friday evening due to nearby fires.
“Fire in progress near the Gare de Lyon. Evacuation of the station in progress,” a tweet from police read. “Avoid the area and let the emergency services intervene.”
The fire was started during a protest against a planned concert by a singer from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Police had banned a planned protest against the concert by Fally Ipupa in the nearby AccorHotels Arena concert hall. But protesters, who say Ipupa is too close to the political leaders in his country, tried to block people from making their way to the concert.
While police said the fire was under control by nightfall, flames could still be seen rising from the street near the train station.
Earlier images and videos from the scene posted on social media, which were not independently verified by Global News, showed flames near the station and thick clouds of smoke.
At one point, the station’s landmark clock tower was engulfed in smoke.
Police said there were no reports of injuries yet.
Gare de Lyon, also known as Paris-Gare-de-Lyon or Station of Lyon, operates national routes as well as services to other parts of Europe. It is one of France’s largest stations.
— With files from Reuters and The Associated Press