The cause of the fire, which later appeared to have been extinguished, is not yet known, Darmanin said.
The fire broke out in the early morning hours in Vaulx-en-Velin, one of Lyon’s biggest suburbs. At least four people suffered serious injuries, and officials said 10 others — including two firefighters — were slightly injured.
Around 170 firefighters were deployed to the incident.
Even though officials said they were at the scene within minutes of the first emergency call, officials told local media outlets that the fire quickly spread from the ground floor of the building to the third floor.
An eyewitness told the BFM television channel that he was woken up by “children screaming.”
“When we opened the windows, we saw smoke coming out,” the eyewitness recalled.
