Paris attacks: France declares state of emergency after over 100 people killed in the capital

France has closed its borders

(AP)

France has declared a state of emergency and closed its borders after over 100 people were killed in a series of apparently co-ordinated attacks in Paris.

Shots were fired in at least two restaurants in the French capital, and two explosions were heard near the Stade de France stadium where the national side was playing Germany in a friendly football match.

Meanwhile at the Bataclan concert hall, around 100 people were taken hostage at the venue where the American band The Eagles of Death Metal were performing. Security forces launched an assault on the theatre, and killed at least two attackers. Police later said that 100 people died in the concert hall.

One official described the scene inside the building as "carnage", and said the attackers had thrown explosives at the captives.

Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins said the death toll in attacks at six sites around the French capital could exceed 120, rising rapidly from the eariler count of around 35.

Speaking near the popular music venue, Molins said that five attackers may have been killed.

Police helicopters circled the sports statidum as President Francois Hollande was rushed out during the game to hold an emergency meeting as the violence unfolded.

Describing the events as an unprecedented terrorist attack, Mr Hollande shut down the country's borders and kick-started emergency measures.

"We know where these attacks come from," Mr Hollande said, without naming any individual group.

In the televised address to his nation, Mr Hollande said France would stand firm and united against the attackers.

“It's a horror,” he said.

In order to cope with the casualties, the emergency services were mobilised, police leave was cancelled and hospitals called in extra staff.

Mr Hollande also drafted in military reinforcements in the Paris area “to ensure that no new attack can take place”.

The President went on to explain that he had shut the nation’s borders to ensure that perpetrators cannot leave, and further attacks can be prevented.

“There is dread, but in the face of this dread, there is a nation that knows how to defend itself, that knows how to mobilise its forces and, once again, will defeat the terrorists.”

France's foreign ministry said airports in the country would remain open and flights and rail services would continue despite the attacks.

“Airports continue to function. Airline flights and train services will be assured,” the ministry said in a statement.

Mr Hollande later formally declared at a meeting urgently summoned at the Elysee palace that the state of emergency covers all mainland territory and Corsica.

According to French law, such measures can be imposed in the event of "imminent danger following serious breaches of law and order."

The law will allow the authorities to stop people and vehicles from moving at specific times and in specific areas, and define safety zones. Police are also enabled with the power to search homes day and night, instead of only in daylight.

Mr Hollande went on to cancel a planned trip to a G-20 meeting in Turkey, and visted the Bataclan site.

In a tweet from the official Paris account, officials said that all of the city's amenities, including schools, museums, libraries, gyms, swimming pools and markets will be closed on Saturday.

Belgium has responded to the massacre by imposing frontier controls on road, rail and air arrivals from France, a spokesman for Prime Minister Charles Michel said.

No groups immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, and it was not clear early on Saturday morning whether any attackers were on the run. However, tweets from jihadists praising the killers sparked fears it was an act of religious extremism.

The attacks come as France is still raw from the Charlie Hebdo atrocity earlier this year, in which 12 people were killed after gunmen stormed the offices of the satirical magazine.

The UK Foreign Office advised Britons to "exercise caution in public places" following the attacks and people with concerns about British friends or relatives in Paris can 0207 0081500 for assistance.

Additional reporting by PA and Reuters

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