Bombs found in Paris department store

Five bombs have been found at a large department store in the centre of Paris. A group calling itself the Afghan Revolutionary Front said it planted the devices in the Printemps store in the city’s ninth arrondissement, and said it was a warning to France to pull its troops out of Afghanistan.

Police found a number of sticks of dynamite in a men’s lavatory, but said there were no detonators attached.

President Sarkozy was kept informed, and urged France to remain alert to the ever-present threat of terrorism. “We must continue to to be vigilant, it is the only way,” he said. “Because, sadly, anything can happen. But we will never negotiate with terrorists.”

Printemps, like other stores at this time of year, was packed with Christmas shoppers. Everyone was evacuated, and no-one was hurt.

France has more than two and a half thousand troops in Afghanistan, and has received threats of terrorist attacks before demanding their withdrawal.

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