1.
GV American Legion building
0.05

2.
CU American Legion sign
0.06

3.
MV INT. American flag
0.10

4.
CU Picture of French officer
0.11

5.
CU Picture of General Patton
0.14

6.
CU Damage to painting of General Pershing (2 shots)
0.22

7.
CU Damaged bust
0.27

8.
MV PAN people looking at bomb-shattered doorway
0.37

9.
MV & CU PAN bomb-damaged rooms
1.09



Initials OS/154 OS/203



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: A home-made bomb caused damage at the offices of the American Legion in Paris on Thursday (25 May), but there were no casualties. Within minutes of the first blast, another bomb exploded in a lavatory at the American Consulate in the French capital, but again, nobody was hurt.

Paintings on the walls at the American Legion were damaged in the blast which hurled rubble across rooms.

Police said the two bombs were of the same type and were probably planted by the same people. A group calling itself the "Committee of Coordination" later claimed responsibility for the bombings in a statement sent to the press. The statement condemned the recent increased American bombing in Vietnam.

Two American airline offices in Paris were evacuated on Thursday as well after bomb threats. Police evacuated both offices and bomb disposal squads rushed in to make search. And in one of the offices they found a sack filled with explosives.

Security measures have been tightened in the French capital to protect American buildings against further attack.