Armored car robbery shocks France

PARIS -- A daytime robbery is recalling the dangerous days of summer for French armored car guards.

A Brinks guard was injured when masked assailants robbed an armored car in southeast Paris Tuesday, the Associated Press reports. The suspects blasted a hole in the vehicle and escaped with at least one bag of money.

A rocket launcher or an explosive device created the hole, French authorities said. The car was cornered near the Porte de Gentilly entrance to the capital before being sprayed with gunfire, according to the AP.

French armored truck guards went on strike in May, protesting the dangers of the job. They demanded hazardous-duty pay and other benefits after the deaths of several guards in a series of holdups.

For two weeks, the protest virtually shut down France's banking system, emptying ATMs and leaving the public in search of cash.