From staff and wire reports
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has led world reaction to the disaster following confirmation that the 99 dead passengers in the Concorde crash are from Germany.
Mr Schroeder expressed his deepest condolences for the passengers killed in the crash. "Germany and France are united in their horror over the accident," he said in a statement.
"I received news of the tragic air crash near Paris, in which more than 100 people were reportedly killed, with great dismay," Schroeder said in a statement. "President (Jacques) Chirac and Prime Minister (Lionel) Jospin called me immediately after news of the accident to express their condolences."
A spokesman for the German government said Schroeder had cancelled his evening appointments to stay on top of developments. The German Foreign Ministry has set up crisis centers in Paris and Berlin.
President Clinton, speaking at Camp David in the United States, said: "Like all of you I just heard the news of the crash of the Concorde outside of Paris, and I wanted to extend the deepest condolences of the American people to the families of those who are lost."
Lionel Jospin visited the scene of the crash, just outside Paris, within hours. Accompanied by his Transportation Minister, Jean-Claude Gayssot, Mr Jospin said: "This accident is extremely serious, because it is almost completely certain that there were no survivors on the plane, and therefore I am thinking about all the victims, the crew, and our friends in Germany."
He added the condition of around a dozen people injured on the ground was "good from a medical standpoint."
Germany's Transport Minister Reinhard Klimmt is heading for the scene of the crash.
The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.
