An explosion in a pedestrian street in Lyon, France has wounded mroe than a dozen people.

Prosecutors say a package bomb is suspected, according to the AFP agency.

No fatalities have been reported.

Police are now searching for a man on a motorcycle, who was seen leaving the parcel outside a bakery on a street corner.

French media quoted the mayor of Lyon’s second district, Denis Broliquier, as saying that an image of the man who deposited a sack or suitcase that apparently exploded was captured by surveillance cameras.

Two news TV stations, BFMTV and CNews, showed a blurry image of a man on a bicycle that they said was the suspect.

Anti-terrorist prosecutors have taken over the investigation in the country's third-biggest city.

French President Emmanuel Macron has described the blast as an "attack".

The Herald:

Kamel Amerouche, the regional authority’s communications chief, did not confirm reports that it was a small package that exploded.

Amerouche told The Associated Press that the wounded suffered leg injuries and weren’t life-threatening.

Mr Broliquier, the district mayor, told BFMTV he arrived minutes after the 5.30pm explosion at the bakery chain store.

“What I saw was a refrigerated cooler in the Brioche Doree, whose windows had been shattered.

"It was the windows … that superficially injured the people who were 1, 2 or 3 metres (yards) away,” Mr Broliquier said.

“But the fridge itself wasn’t that damaged, which means the device had low force,” Mr Broliquier said, downplaying the incident.

“It’s not the apocalypse … There’s no danger. There’s no risk.”

The street was blocked off by police in Lyon’s second district.

The area, the Presqu’ile, is the center of the city between the Rhone and Saone rivers that run through France’s third-largest city.

French President Emmanuel Macron during a live interview about the European Parliament elections, calling it an “attack,” confirmed that there are had been no fatalities and sent “a thought for the injured and their families.”