At least 40 people were killed in shootouts in central Paris and explosions were heard near a stadium where a soccer match between France and Germany was underway, BFM TV and other French media reported on Friday. France 24 television said that president Francois Hollande had been at the Stade de France and was taken out of the area. Hollande and his interior minister rushed were rushing from the soccer match to the ministry to deal with the unfolding situation, an official said.

One witness said he heard gunshots as he was walking on a street in the 10th district of Paris close to Place de La Rqpublique. When he arrived outside a restaurant he saw bodies on the ground. "I saw three bodies being put into body bags," said Fabien Baron, a student.

Copyright Reuters, 2015