A man who was near the sports stadium in Paris where two deadly bombs exploded, says his phone saved his life.

Sylvestre is a lucky man. He was speaking to someone on the phone and walking near the Stade de France in Paris, when a bomb exploded.

It sent shrapnel flying towards him, but his phone took most of the hit.

"After he hung up, I was crossing the street and straight away, boom, it exploded right in front of me. Everything was blown to bits and I felt stuff flying around, I fell and then I got back up. And that's when you guys saw me, you were already there. So this is the cell phone that took the hit, it's what saved me. Otherwise my head would have been blown to bits."

Officials say several people died in the two suicide bomb explosions outside the stadium, where French President Francois Hollande and the German foreign minister were watching a friendly football match.

The Friday night bombing was one of five coordinated attacks over the course of a few hours in Paris.

At least 140 people are dead, and some 200 others were injured.

Hollande has said the government's aware of where the attacks came from, and has declared a national state of emergency.