Many Parisians and residents of Île-de-France heard a noise resembling a loud explosion on Wednesday.
It was actually a fighter plane that broke the sound barrier, as part of an interception mission.
It is not an explosion, as many Parisians and inhabitants of Île-de-France may have feared.
The significant noise heard late Wednesday morning in Paris and the Paris region was caused by a fighter plane that broke the sound barrier, we learned from the Paris Police Prefecture.
This noise, heard shortly before noon, sparked many reactions and questions on social networks.
"There is no explosion", tweeted the Prefecture of Police, calling on the population not to "clutter the emergency lines".
A very important noise was heard in Paris and in the Paris region.
There is no explosion, it is about a fighter plane which crossed the sound barrier.
Don't clutter up the emergency lines!
- Police Prefecture (@prefpolice) September 30, 2020
ÎLE-DE-FRANCE: Loud bang heard throughout Paris and its suburbs.
It is about a fighter plane having crossed the sound barrier (prefecture).
# Explosionpic.twitter.com / 8wF8CWFbJf
- French Info (@InfosFrancaises) September 30, 2020
According to the Minister of Defense Florence Parly, it would be an interception mission concerning a device that has just crossed the limit of the restricted airspace, which prohibits the overflight of Paris.
It is still unclear whether this was a deliberate or unintentional intrusion into a space that should not be overflown.
The explosion heard in Paris comes from a fighter plane which was "on an interception mission" explains Florence Parly from Riga.
The Minister does not specify at this stage whether the intrusion of an aircraft in a restricted area was “voluntary or involuntary” @ europe1
- Hadrien Bect (@HadrienBect) September 30, 2020
According to a very framed device, the Air Force remains constantly on alert on this type of intrusion and must be able to intervene in a few seconds, even if it is an involuntary intrusion from a civilian aircraft.