Magnitude 5.2 earthquake felt in southwestern France

Paris: A magnitude 5.2 earthquake rattled the southwestern French city of La Rochelle on Thursday in the strongest quake in mainland France since April 2014, the Central French Seismic Office said. Local press reported witnesses saying the quake, which struck at 0845 local time (0645 GMT), had caused buildings to shake, but there was no immediate reports of important damage.

Though smaller tremors are frequent in mainland France, strong earthquakes are rare.