Drone Briefly Flies over French Presidential Palace

A drone briefly flew over the French presidential palace in central Paris late on Thursday, a source at the presidency said.

Confirming a report on iTELE channel, the source with the Elysee Palace said the device spent only "a few seconds" over the palace and was "immediately spotted" by police guarding the building.

The Paris prosecutor's office had launched an investigation into the incident, which came a week after three days of jihadist attacks in Paris, which left 17 people dead and put the country on heightened alert.

The drone sighting at the Elysee follows a series of mysterious drone overflights at French nuclear plants in October and November, for which no one ever claimed responsibility.