French Jet’s Sonic Boom Shakes Paris, Disrupts Tennis

French Jet’s Sonic Boom Shakes Paris, Disrupts Tennis
A Rafale fighter jet takes off at Saint-Dizier Air Base, France, on Oct. 4, 2019. Benoit Tessier/Filke Photo/Reuters
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PARIS—A French fighter jet broke the sound barrier on Wednesday as it scrambled to join a commercial jet that had lost contact with air traffic control, causing a sonic boom that reverberated through Paris and its suburbs, the defense ministry said.

The boom rattled windows, scattered startled birds, briefly interrupted tennis at the French Open, and prompted a flood of calls to emergency services.