Police in Paris have evacuated up to 18 people from a mall near the city following an attempted armed robbery at a Primark store, TheJournal.ie reported.
Special forces were dispatched to the scene in Villeneuve-la-Garenne this morning.
"Around 6.30am, two or three armed criminals went into the Primark store for what we think was initially an attempt at armed robbery," a police source, who wished to remain anonymous said.
Another police source said an employee first alerted her boyfriend of the hold-up around 7am when she sent him a text message saying they had been taken hostage by two armed men.
Police have stopped all traffic in the area around the Qwartz mall where the Primark store is located, and all other shops in the vicinity have closed up.