Police suspect the parcels were linked to Greek guerrilla groups. Greece has been rocked by a wave of gas canister and bomb attacks, usually claimed by leftist groups, since the police killing of a teenager in Athens in 2008 sparked the country's worst riots in decades.

The parcel that exploded in the hands of a female employee was addressed to the Mexican embassy in Athens, police said.

Shortly after the explosion, police arrested two suspects and detonated two more makeshift parcel bombs they carried and a third one found at another deliver company.

"One of the explosive devices that the suspects were carrying was addressed to the president of the French Republic, Nicolas Sarkozy," police spokesman Thanassis Kokkalakis said, adding the other packages were addressed to the Belgian and Dutch embassies in Athens.

"It is not clear what the motive behind these attacks was," he said.

Reuters