The strong explosion wounded two French guards and set off a fire at the embassy entrance that engulfed some of the offices inside, the officials said.

NPR: Car Bomb Targets French Embassy In Libya

At Hollande's request, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius was to travel to Tripoli later Tuesday to assess the situation and bring home the two wounded French guards.

NPR: Car Bomb Targets French Embassy In Libya

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- A car bomb exploded just outside the French embassy in Tripoli early Tuesday morning, injuring two French security guards and a local girl, officials said.

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The athletes carrying the flame were virtually invisible behind the Chinese guards and French policemen on rollerblades.

ECONOMIST: The Olympic flame

Still, officials from the prison guards' union pressed French Justice Minister Christiane Taubira to make prisons safer, including more thorough searches of those who enter, BFMTV reported.

CNN: Interpol issues wanted notice for escaped French gangster