Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve confirmed at least 13 people were dead and six people were injured in the fire, which started after midnight Friday.
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At least 13 people have reportedly been killed after a fire broke out in a bar in the northern French city of Rouen.
It was downtown in the basement of the Cuba Libre bar that a young crowd aged 18 to 25 was celebrating a birthday when the fire broke out.
A party turned tragic this weekend when candles from a birthday cake caused fire to erupt in the basement of a bar in France.
More than 80 firefighters battled the blaze early yesterday at the downtown bar in the city in Normandy, Rouen Mayor Yvon Robert said after the blaze was extinguished.
An enquiry is still underway to establish and confirm the cause of the fire.
The fire was said to have been started when someone holding a birthday cake with candles tripped on the stairs and fell. BBC reported on two different incidents in the past where a fire occurred in public places with deadly results.
Terrorism has been ruled out by the authorities, according to reports from the Guardian and the BBC.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls was among political leaders taking to Twitter to express their grief.
The secretary general of the prefecture of Seine-Maritime, Yvan Cordier, said that emergency services had “intervened very quickly”.
Locals gather at the “Au Cuba Libre”, the scene of a fatal fire in Rouen, western France, on August 6, 2016.
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France has been on high alert after the stabbing of a French priest on July 26 in a church in Normandy, near Rouen. “Compassion and support for the afflicted families”. The funeral Mass was held at the Rouen cathedral on Tuesday.
