2 wounded after police sniper mistakenly shoots during French president's speech

French President Francois Hollande.
(Image credit: Yohan Bonnet/AFP/Getty Images)

While making remarks at the inauguration of a new high-speed train system line on Tuesday, French President Francois Hollande was interrupted by the sound of a gunshot, with French media reporting a police sniper accidentally fired his weapon.

Two people were wounded in the incident — a waiter working with a catering company whose calf was grazed by the bullet and an employee of the train line who was shot in the leg, Sud Ouest reports. Their injuries are not life-threatening. Hollande didn't panic when he heard the shot, but did look offstage and said, "I hope that it's nothing serious." The police sniper was on a roof as part of security detail, an official in Villognon said, and fired when he was adjusting his position.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.