'Explosives found' in Paris store

Printemps Haussmann is a major department store in Paris

Five sticks of explosive have been found and disabled in a top Paris department store, French police say.

The Printemps Haussmann store was evacuated and cordoned off after the discovery, the AFP news agency said.

AFP said it had received a letter signed by a group calling itself the Afghan Revolutionary Front warning of "several bombs" placed in the store.

It quoted the French interior minister saying the explosives did not include any detonation device.

The store was evacuated as Paris was busy with shoppers ahead of Christmas.

The Afghan Revolutionary Front is a previously unknown group.

France has about 3,000 troops serving with Nato in Afghanistan.