Paris,

An explosion occurred at 10.15 hrs this Friday morning at Grande Paroisse's Toulouse factory, causing substantial damage. The cause of the blast is not yet known.

At this point in time it is not possible to assess the extent of the human impact of the accident, but it is likely that there are fatalities, with many people injured. The Senior Management of ATOFINA are being kept informed of any development.

This Grande Paroisse plant produces nitrogen fertilisers (marketed under the trade name AZF) as well as a number of chemical intermediates. It employs 460 people. It is an 80% subsidiary of ATOFINA, the Chemicals branch of the TotalFinaElf Group

Emergency and rescue services sprang into action immediately, and the entire site was safe again by 11.00 hrs.

Close cooperation is in place between the emergency and rescue services and ATOFINA's crisis unit.

The President of TotalFinaElf, Thierry Desmarest, has visited the site together with François Cornélis, President of ATOFINA, and Michel Perratzi, President of Grande Paroisse.