France’s president has urged the nation to stay united as it hunts gunmen who killed 12 people at the office of a satirical newspaper.

Thousands of Parisians have gathered in La Place de La Republique to express their condolences and show their support for satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo after 12 people were killed earlier today, when hooded gunmen opened fire at the magazine's offices.

Twelve people have been shot dead in a terror attack at the offices of a French satirical weekly which angered some Muslims after publishing crude caricatures of Islam’s prophet Mohammed.

France has stepped up security at its embassies across the Muslim world after a French satirical magazine published crude caricatures of Islam's Prophet Mohammed.

A French magazine has published caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed claiming the right to free speech even as global tension grew over the film insulting to Islam.

FRANCE’S prime minister has condemned an apparent arson attack that destroyed the offices of a satirical French newspaper that had “invited” the Prophet Muhammad as a guest editor.

The offices of a French satirical magazine have been firebombed after it named Muhammad as a guest editor.