France: loud explosion hits bakery in central Paris

PARIS: A large explosion badly damaged a bakery in central Paris on Saturday, injuring several people and smashing windows in surrounding buildings, police and AFP journalists at the scene said.

A fire broke out after the blast at around 9am (0800 GMT) in the busy 9th district of the city, which police suspect may have been caused by a gas leak.

Images posted on Twitter showed debris covering the street and the lower part of the building blown out and on fire.