Five held hostage in Paris Lidl

Five hostages were being held in a Lidl supermarket in a Paris suburb after police interrupted a holdup early today, a police union leader said.

The gunmen were leaving the Lidl discount store in the northern suburb of Sevran with the cash they had stolen when they were surprised by a police patrol, Sebastien Bailly, a representative of the Alliance police union, told BFM television.

The gunmen then took six employees hostage, later releasing one of them, Mr Bailly said.

An elite police unit is on the scene, BFM said.

Bloomberg