Smoke rises from the Maison de la Radio in Paris's affluent 16th district

The headquarters of French public radio network Radio France were evacuated Friday after a fire broke out at the iconic circular building in Paris.

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Photos posted on Twitter showed large plumes of black smoke rising from several windows from the upper floors of the Maison de la Radio on the banks of the River Seine in the west of the French capital.

Employees were evacuated and there were no reports of injuries from the fire, which was quickly brought under control.

Firefighters said the blaze started on the building’s 7th floor, where extensive renovation work is taking place.

Two of the network’s stations were briefly forced off air as the evacuation was carried out.

"We are forced to interrupt our programmes and evacuate," a journalist said on France Info radio.

French President François Hollande described the fire as an "extremely traumatic event", adding that it was a "symbolic" building.

The Maison de la Radio was built in 1963 and houses studios for some of France's most popular radio stations.

It has been undergoing significant renovation since 2009, notably to modernize its anti-fire protections.

Journalists inside the building said that no alarm had sounded during the incident.

"For a quarter of an hour, we were saying 'what shall we do'?" said Isabelle Labeyrie, from France Info radio station.

"While we were waiting for the order to evacuate, we took pictures," she added.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

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