A gunman is on the loose in Paris after he stormed a travel agency and held seven people hostage.

Anti-terrorist police were among those who surrounded the business in the 13th arrondissement of the French capital last night.

Authorities say a gunman is still on the run, but hostages have now been freed.

It comes after a man brandishing a gun was seen running into the Asieland agency soon after 6.30pm, and is believed to have been attempting a robbery.

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A man brandishing a gun was seen running into the Asieland agency soon after 6.30pm, and was initially thought to be attempting a robbery

Police in Paris descended on the travel agent as a gunman held hostages in what is believed to be an armed robbery attempt

French police secure a street near the travel agency where a gunman has taken people inside hostage

Police initially believed the man had taken about half a dozen people hostage, but when they entered the property they found no trace of him, mayor Jerome Coumet told reporters.

'There were two floors. The people on site were scared that the robber was still there, which was not the case. The police intervened and freed everybody,' Coumet said.

A security ring was set up around the agency.

It was confirmed at 9pm local time that the hostages had been released, but the gunman was still at large.

Seven hostages were freed after the gunman stormed the travel agent in the south of Paris

Armed police were dispatched to the scene after an armed robber took seven people hostage

Fire crews and doctors look after a man who was in the travel agency when the gunman attempted to rob it

A spokesman for the Paris prefecture said: 'A search is underway to try and find the man involved.'

Police tweeted: 'Armed robbery on Massena Boulevard in Paris: operation over. Six people have left. The thief is not on the premises.'

Sources said seven hostages had been 'found safe and sound' after the hold-up at the southern Paris travel agency.

France is currently under an official state of emergency following a series of terror attacks which have seen Islamic State and al-Qaeda killers striking in Paris

‘Seven people were inside and all are being held,’ said a source at the scene.

Police said the robbery happened on Boulevard Massena, in the southern 13th district of the French capital.

France is currently under an official state of emergency following a series of terror attacks which have seen Islamic State and al-Qaeda killers striking in Paris.

One witness says she saw at least a dozen police cars blocking the boulevard.

The mayor added: 'It was an attempt at an armed robbery that went wrong.

French police officers rushed to the scene of the drama and roads were closed after the gunman stormed the business in Boulevard Massena

Authorities have described the emergency as an 'attempt at an armed robbery that went wrong'

'The police intervened immediately. There are no reports of victims or any damage so far. The police are doing everything to bring the situation under control.'

A spokesman for the Paris police prefecture said the man had made for the safe in the travel agency.

It is popular with customers who deal in cash transactions, and has been robbed before.

The hold-up in Chinatown comes at a time of heightened safety concerns among Paris' large Chinese community following a fatal attack on a tailor in August and a series of muggings.

More than 10,000 Chinese Parisians staged a protest march in September calling for increased security for the community following the killing of Zhang Chaolin, beaten to death during a robbery.

The road was sealed off as teams of armed officers were dispatched to the scene