Around 170 people been dislocated from the western French city of La Laigne after an earthquake on Friday evening.
The earthquake, believed to have been between magnitude5.2 and5.8 was felt from Rennes in the north- west to Bordeaux in the south- west.
Homes, seminaries and churches were damaged, with hundreds of structures declared uninhabitable.
Earthquakes above magnitude five are unusual in France, with the last affecting the country in November 2019.
Two people were injured in the city of Deux- Sevres following Friday’s earthquake.
The Charente- Maritime region just north of Bordeaux was particularly affected.
In La Laigne, the original fire service principal Didier Marcaillou advised the church had come” fully unworkable” and a top government indigenous functionary said that utmost of the houses in the city centre were affected.
” The academy will have to be closed as a palladium,” Nicolas Basselier said.
One woman cried as she told original station BFMTV that she had could no longer live in her home.” I wouldn’t wish this on anyone,” the woman, named Christine said.” In my son’s room you can fit your entire hand through the crack in the wall.”
Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne described the earthquake as” unusual” and expressed her solidarity with those” who may have been upset”.
” We’ll obviously insure that everyone has access to rehousing,” Ms Borne said.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the government would initiate an accelerated natural disaster recognition procedure to help snappily assess the structural damage to structures.
