Paris: It was a daring escape inspired by Hollywood and executed with a ruthless mix of military precision and Gallic flair.

French gangster Redoine Faid is now on the run after being sprung from jail by heavily armed gunmen and escaping in a helicopter that landed in the prison grounds, the justice minister said.

Faid, who looks like the sort of slickly dressed villain you find in a James Bond movie, was serving a 25-year sentence at a prison south of Paris for an armed robbery that went wrong and led to the death of a policewoman in 2010.

French criminal Redoine Faid as made an audacious escape from prison. Credit:AP

He is one of the country's most infamous gangsters with a long criminal career, which he has said was inspired by Hollywood blockbuster movies such as Scarface and Heat.