AFP/ Paris

Air France chief executive Frederic Gagey said Sunday that a bomb scare that prompted one of the airline's planes to make an emergency landing in Kenya had been a "false alarm".

"After analysis it has been indicated that it was a false alarm," said Gagey of the item that was found in the toilet cubicle on board the plane flying from Mauritius to Paris

"All the information we have at this stage shows that the object was not capable of causing an explosion that would damage the plane but was rather a mixture of cardboard, pieces of paper as well as a timer," he said.

The crew decided to make an emergency landing in Kenya after the suspicious-looking object was found, and passengers were evacuated using the aircraft's slides.

France is on high alert after jihadist attacks in Paris in November left 130 people dead, and is one of many countries taking extra security precautions.

Islamic State jihadists who claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks also said they were responsible for downing a Russian jet in October after smuggling a bomb onto the plane, killing all 224 people on board.