France earthquake: Magnitude-5.1 quake rocks cities across west of country

'Moderate' quake comes months after similar tremor caused damage to buildings

­ A 5.1-magnitude earthquake has rocked western France, felt as far as Bordeaux in the south and Normandy in the north.

The “moderate” quake prompted concern across the country, but no damage has been reported so far.

France’s national seismic service said the epicentre of the 5.1 magnitude earthquake on Friday morning was near the town of Bressuire, which is between Angers and La Rochelle in the west of the country.

It shook cities including Le Mans, Nantes, Rennes and Caen.

The quake is a relatively strong one for France, which generally experiences infrequent seismic activity of this scale and is home to numerous historic buildings not designed to withstand quakes.

“I felt the house shaking here in Montsoreau,” wrote Peter Symon on Twitter who was 70km (43 miles) away from Bressuire. “It was the same sensation as the earthquake in Birmingham in the 1990s: like someone moving a wardrobe next door.”

It comes after a 4.9 magnitude quake struck the country in March this year, near Bordeaux, causing chimneys to fall from an empty apartment block.

The largest earthquake ever recorded in France was the 1909 Provence quake which had a magnitude of 6.2.

It struck on 11 June, killing 46 people, injuring 250 and leaving around 2,000 buildings damaged.