An apartment block fire killed 12 people and injured 13 in the southern suburbs of Paris early today, bringing to more than 30 the number of deaths in recent serious blazes in the capital.
Some 160 firefighters tackled the fire which broke out in the entrance hall of the 15-floor building in l'Hay-les-Roses at around midnight.
The fire was quickly brought under control, but the cause was not immediately known.
It was the latest in a spate of fires in or around Paris which had already killed 24 people, mostly Africans, in a matter of weeks and raised questions over fire safety and the treatment of immigrants.
After a fatal fire less than a week ago, in which seven people died, President Jacques Chirac demanded action on fire safety to prevent further tragedies.
