Police probe three reports of suspicious powder in mail

French police are investigating three cases of a suspicious powder discovered in the mail.

One has been found at a school, one at a branch of a financial institution and one at a government office.

A central police laboratory is investigating evidence collected at all three sites fearing an anthrax outbreak.

Rescue workers evacuated employees from one of the sites, a branch of the Caisse des Depots et Consignations in southern Paris, after workers reported receiving an envelope containing a suspicious powder.

Several workers who said they'd touched the letter were taken to a hospital.

Officials said it was too early to determine whether the powder was dangerous.

"This could be a talcum powder as much as a toxic chemical," Jacques Kerdoncuff, a Paris rescue official, said. "To the naked eye, we cannot know anything. This chemical has no smell, and the people concerned didn't feel anything wrong."

The other two sites affected were the College de France, one of France's most prestigious institutions of higher education, and a tax collection office, also in southern Paris.