Bombs Explode at Peugeot, 2 Other Paris Buildings During Botha Visit

PARIS —  Bombs exploded at three Paris office buildings almost simultaneously early today, wounding one person and damaging the structures, fire officials said.

Direct Action, an extreme left-wing group, reportedly said it set off the blasts at the headquarters of the auto maker Peugeot and at the multistory Manhattan Tower and the Total Tower because of their commercial links with the white-led minority government of South Africa.

The explosions coincided with a visit to France by South African President Pieter W. Botha to inaugurate a memorial to South Africans killed in World Wars I and II.

Botha Cold-Shouldered

Botha made the trip despite a cold shoulder by the French government, and he has been received by only low-level officials.

Police said the first blast occurred at about 1 a.m. at the Peugeot building, just west of the Arch of Triumph. Firemen reported that one person was slightly wounded and that the building was severely damaged.

The explosions at the two towers, both at the suburban office complex of La Defense west of downtown Paris, followed moments later.

Fire officials said damage was heavy at the Total Tower but slight at the Manhattan Tower and that there were no injuries. The two structures, which are each about 40 stories tall, are some distance apart in the huge La Defense complex.

Both Total, a petroleum company, and Peugeot have business dealings in South Africa.

Among the major tenants of the Manhattan Tower is COFACE, a state-owned company that provides insurance for foreign trade deals of French firms.

Night Guard Warned

The news service Agence France-Presse reported that the night guard at the Total Tower received a warning just before the explosion from an anonymous caller claiming to represent Direct Action.

Direct Action has claimed responsibility for other bombings as well, most of them set off in the middle of the night in uninhabited buildings, sometimes aiming at firms with ties to South Africa.

In September, a series of bombings in Paris killed 11 people and injured more than 160. Those attacks were claimed by groups that demanded freedom for three Middle East terrorists jailed in France.