Paris rattled by sonic boom from military jet

PARIS, France — A loud noise that caused panic in Paris was caused by a sonic boom as a military jet broke the speed of sound, police in the French capital say.

“A very loud noise was heard in Paris and in the Paris region. It was not an explosion, it was a fighter jet crossing the sound barrier,” Paris police say on their Twitter account, urging people to stop calling emergency phone lines.

The noise, which was heard all across the city and shook windows, rattled Parisians already on edge after a knife attack outside the former offices of the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo last week that the government has called an act of terror.

Wednesday’s incident led to confusion, with people asking on social media about a noise heard throughout the city but that left no trace of damage.

Last Friday, two people were wounded in the knife attack by a man wielding a meat cleaver outside the former offices of Charlie Hebdo in central Paris.

— AFP