US Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday he wants to give Paris a "big hug" after last week's Islamist attacks in the French capital, when he travels there later in the day.

"My visit to France is basically to share a big hug for Paris and express our affection for France ... and the people in Paris who have gone through a terrible time," Kerry said in Bulgaria.

Kerry was due to leave Sofia for Paris late Thursday for talks on Friday with French President Francois Hollande.

It is his first trip there since Islamist extremists last week killed 17 people in attacks on the offices of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, a Jewish supermarket and a policewoman.