Paris, May 25 (IANS): An explosion of a parcel bomb wounded at least eight people in the central French city of Lyon on Friday afternoon, regional authorities said.

"Explosion in Lyon.... Perimeter of security put in place. For your safety avoid the area," prefecture of Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes et du Rhone said in a Twitter message, the Xinhua news agency reported.

"First casualties: eight slightly wounded," it added.

The explosion took place at around 5:40 p.m. local time on a pedestrian street in the second district of Lyon, state-run France info radio reported.

Citing the Interior Ministry, it added the blast was due to suspected package bomb. President Emmanuel Macron called the incident as "an attack".

"There was an attack in Lyon, everyone knows ... At this stage, there is no victim. There are wounded (people), so I want to have a thought for the wounded and their families, of course," he was quoted as saying by local media.