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Eight people had to be evacuated from their homes in Rennes on Thursday after large cracks suddenly appeared in the building in which they live.

It is thought the cracks were caused by a tunnel-boring machine being used to build the B line of the city's Metro system.

Firemen were called to the property, on the rue du Vau Saint-Germain, not far from the Opera House, at 11pm after tenants discovered the cracks in the walls and floor of their properties. People living in the building were evacuated and offered temporary accommodation. The property was due to be re-examined on Friday.

Rennes' B Line, which will run from the northeast to the southwest of the city is due to open in 2019. When the A line opened in 2002, Rennes became the smallest city in the world to boast its own Metro. It held that 'record' for six years, until Lausanne, in Switzerland, opened its service.