Two employees of the US embassy in Paris were examined for possible poisoning today after handling a suspicious envelope, but preliminary results indicated it was not harmful, the embassy said.
Embassy spokesman Paul Patin said US officials had immediately contacted French security services on receiving the suspect mail and the envelope was still being examined in a laboratory.
"I cannot say conclusively that the envelope was not harmful, but that is what it seems as of now," Mr Patin said.
A spokesman for France's judicial police said it had deployed a mobile laboratory to test for poisonous substances at the embassy, close to the historic Champs-Elysees in central Paris.
Earlier, a French police source had said three employees at the embassy had fallen ill.
Reuters