Thick smoke seen pouring from upper floors of French state radio headquarters

A fire at the Paris headquarters of French state radio is sending columns of thick black smoke out of more than a dozen windows.

Photos of the scene Friday afternoon showed smoke pouring from the upper stories of the massive Maison de la Radio in the capital's 16th arrondissement.

No one was hurt and the building was safely evacuated, fire department spokesman Gabriel Plus said on television i-tele.

The fire was contained in the early afternoon and there was no risk of it spreading to other floors, Plus said. The fire started in a part of the building's eighth floor that was undergoing renovations and was not being used by radio personnel, Plus said.

In a sign of the building's national importance, President Francois Hollande interrupted a news conference with Turkish President Recep Erdogan to address the incident.

"The damage appears considerable," Hollande said, calling the fire "a great shock."

The building, nicknamed "The Round House" for its circular design, was built in 1963 and houses studios for some of France's most popular radio stations. Renovations have been ongoing for years, notably to modernize its anti-fire protections.