Paris:
An armed man was holding two people hostage in a bank in Paris today and demanding a negotiator, police said.
The man entered the branch of CIC bank in Paris's 13th district around 1450 GMT (2020 IST) with a handgun and was demanding social housing for himself and his son, a police source said.
He initially took four people in the bank hostage but released two, police said.
Police said one of the bank's employees managed to trigger an alarm shortly after the man entered the bank.
Around 1600 GMT (2130 IST), six police officers, including one carrying a shield, could be seen standing outside the entrance to the bank branch.
Reached by AFP, representatives of CIC declined to make any immediate comment.