France ends toxic alert at Canadian embassy in Paris

PARIS, Feb 19 (Reuters) Police in chemical protective suits evacuated Canada's embassy in Paris today when a staff member fell ill after opening the mail, but authorities later said the suspect letter contained no toxic substance.

''The alert is over,'' Florent Hivert, deputy spokesman for the Paris fire brigade, told reporters.

The embassy was evacuated after a member of staff fell ill after opening a suspect letter. The man was taken to hospital.

''We don't know what it was but it's not a toxic substance,'' Hivert said when asked what was in the envelope. Further tests are being carried out.

The alert triggered the deployment of police and fire-fighters in white protective suits under long-standing plans drawn up to deal with nuclear, radiological, bacteriological and chemical hazards.

At least six security personnel were outside the embassy in white protective suits, a Reuters reporter at the scene said.

The area around the building, on one of the smartest shopping streets in Paris near the Champs Elysees, was blocked off with red and white police tape. Fire engines and dozens of police and emergency personnel were at the scene.

France, which is in the middle of a presidential election campaign, has been on a red security alert, the second highest level since the discovery last August of an alleged plot to blow up in mid-air aircraft flying to the United States from Britain.

REUTERS AKJ PM1705