Deadly parcel bomb blast in Paris

A secretary in the Gouet-Jenselme law firm was killed after she opened the package, which contained two explosive devices. A lawyer nearby was injured.

The former law firm of President Nicolas Sarkozy is located in the same building in central Paris, but there was no suggestion of a link.

The building also houses The Foundation for the Memory of the Holocaust.

'Covered with blood'

The bomb went off shortly before 1300 local time (1200 GMT) on the fourth floor of the building, police said.

"Someone came to the office and left a package. The secretary who opened it in fact opened a parcel bomb. The parcel bomb killed her," Christian Charriere-Bournazel, president of the Paris bar association, told the Associated Press news agency.

The identity of the woman is yet to be released, while the injured lawyer was named as Olivier Brane.

An eyewitness said he first heard a muffled explosion, and later saw a blonde woman carried out of the building.

"She was completely covered with blood, she was unconscious," Damien Laude told AP.

Mr Laude said he also saw a man with a head wound emerging from the building.

About 10 people were treated for shock, officials said.

Paris prosecutor Jean-Claude Marin said a motive for the attack was unknown and the Gouet-Jenselme law firm was "mystified by this incident".

French Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie was rushing back from Brussels to visit the scene. She condemned the bombing as a "cowardly, odious act".

Mr Charriere-Bournazel said the blast "had nothing to do with" the former law company of President Sarkozy, because it was located on a different floor of the building.

There was also no immediate indication that the attack was linked in any way with The Foundation for the Memory of the Holocaust.