Three people were injured Saturday in a knife attack at Paris's Gare de Lyon railway station, a major travel hub, police said, adding that a suspect had been arrested.

The detained man, a Malian national, went on a stabbing spree at around 8:00 am (0700 GMT) at the station, which operates domestic trains as well as those heading to Switzerland and Italy.

One person suffered serious injuries to the abdomen while two others were lightly wounded, police said.

"The suspect did not cry out (any religious slogans) during his attack," a police source said. "He presented the police an Italian driving licence", which gave his date of birth as January 1, 1992.

Passers-by overpowered the man before railway police arrived on the scene, the police source said.

"A thank you to those who overpowered the man who carried out this unbearable act," said Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin on X, formerly Twitter.

The attackers' motives remained unclear.

The Paris prosecutor's office launched an inquiry into the attack, while the national anti-terrorist prosecutor said it was observing proceedings at this stage.

The assault took place less than six months before Paris hosts the 2024 Olympics and and an expected 15 million visitors.

Each year more than 100 million passengers go through the Gare de Lyon, France's biggest mainline hub.

The area between halls one and three were temporarily inaccessible, rail operator SNCF said on X, formerly Twitter.

Services to the Paris region were delayed, the SNCF said, referring only to "an act of criminal intent".

Bomb explodes near Greek ministry

A explosive device went off overnight in front of the Greek labour ministry in central Athens without causing any casualties, police said on Saturday.

The explosion, which caused material damage, was preceded by an anonymous telephone call to the Greek daily Efimerida ton Syntakton about an impending blast, the police said.

The caller warned that an explosive device had been placed in front of the ministry which would be detonated 40 minutes later.

According to media reports, the man claimed to be a member of Revolutionary Class Self-Defence, a previously unknown organisation.

The area around the building was cordoned off by the police and the device exploded at 01:29 am (2329 GMT).

Public broadcaster ERT said the device had been placed in a bag left outside the gates of a bank near the ministry.

Attacks on public establishments, banks and diplomatic representations have been recurrent in Greece for years. They are generally attributed to extreme left-wing or anarchist movements.

The investigation has been handed over to the anti-terrorist services, police said.

"We are concerned about the attack, we have confidence in the police," government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said.