PARIS (AFP) - Shots were fired near the French embassy in Yemen on Tuesday, the foreign ministry said, after a car bomb attack on France's embassy in Libya wounded two French guards and caused extensive damage.

France is watching the situation in the capital Sanaa "carefully", a ministry spokesman told AFP.

Paris stepped up security around its diplomatic missions after the bombing in Libya early on Tuesday. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius warned that the "terrorists" would pay, during a visit to Tripoli.

"This morning a person fired shots into the air near our embassy in Yemen," said a foreign ministry spokesman in Paris, adding that the Yemeni authorities had been informed of the incident.

"We will monitor security developments on the ground very carefully."

Libya is still plagued by insecurity following the 2011 ouster of long-time dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

In Mali meanwhile, French forces are locked in a battle against Islamist extremists in the north of the country.

Security chief Mahmud al-Sherif said the blast occurred when a car parked outside the mission's front door exploded at 7:10 am (0510 GMT).

The blast knocked down the wall surrounding the property and caused extensive damage to the embassy, with one French employee saying "there's nothing left of my office".