Friday afternoon’s blaze came after officers clashed with people protesting against a Congolese artist giving a concert nearby. Terrified passengers were seen running from the landmark station as giant plumes of smoke rose high into the sky. Parisians and tourists alike stopped to take in the dramatic scenes and record on their phones as flames engulfed motorcycles and a car close to the station. 

Officers evacuated the station after corridors filled with thick smoke. 

Police had banned protests around the AccorHotels Arena in the neighbourhood of Bercy in the 12th arrondissement in the run up to the concert. 

But demonstrators took to the streets to voice their opposition to a concert by Fally Ipupa from the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

Opponents say Mr Ipupa is too close to the political leaders in his country.

Congolese expats regularly speak out against artists from home who perform in France or Belgium, accusing them of being close to former DR Congo president Joseph Kabila and his successor Felix Tshisekedi.

A 2017 concert by Ipupa was cancelled by police citing risks for “serious disturbances to the public order”.

Protesters tried to block people from making their way to the concert. 

They also set fire to scooters and rubbish bins in the area.

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He voiced his support for Paris firefighters and the police hired “to restore order and arrest troublemakers”.

The SNCF train service operator said the underground section of the Gare de Lyon was evacuated as a precautionary measure.

Journalist Remy Buisine posted a video of the fire. 

He said: “Major fire in progress near the Gare de Lyon after tensions between opponents of the Fally Ipupa concert in Bercy and the police.”

Another video shared on Twitter appears to show a group of men pushing firefighters away from a blaze. 

Some members of the group appear to pick up barricades and storm towards the firefighters. 

Riot police were seen marching along a nearby road. 

The Gare de Lyon is one of the six large mainline railway stations termini in Paris. 

An estimated 90 million passengers pass through its doors each year. 

It is the third-busiest station in France and one of the busiest in Europe.