Seven critically injured in Paris explosion.

At least 16 people have been injured, seven of them seriously, after a large explosion in central Paris. The blast took place in a building next to the Val de Grâce church in Rue Saint-Jacques in the fifth arrondissement of the French capital. The cause of the blast has not been determined, but witnesses reported a strong smell of gas before the explosion. The building housed an international design school and the headquarters of the Catholic education system. A major rescue effort is under way, amid fears that there could be more potential victims under the debris.