A policeman who swapped himself for a hostage held by a gunman during a deadly siege of a supermarket has died, the French Interior Minister confirmed.

Key points: French policeman Lieutenant Colonel Arnaud Beltrame died after taking place of hostage

French policeman Lieutenant Colonel Arnaud Beltrame died after taking place of hostage Mr Beltrame, who served in Iraq and is a qualified parachutist, was part of an elite police guard

Mr Beltrame, who served in Iraq and is a qualified parachutist, was part of an elite police guard The gunman is dead and three other people were killed during the rampage

French officials hailed the bravery of Lieutenant Colonel Arnaud Beltrame, who was shot by attacker Redouane Lakdim after taking the place of a female hostage.

President Emmanuel Macron said in an address to the nation that Mr Beltrame had "saved lives".

"He fell as a hero, giving up his life to halt the murderous outfit of a jihadist terrorist," Mr Macron said.

Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said in a tweet that France would "never forget his heroism, his bravery, his sacrifice".

"With a heavy heart, I offer the support of the whole country to his family, his relatives and his companions of the Gendarmerie."

Sorry, this video has expired Police search the apartment complex of suspected gunman

During his rampage on Friday, Lakdim screamed "Allahu Akbar" (God is great) and shot at police before taking hostages inside the Super U supermarket in the southern town of Trebes.

Earlier he had killed one person while stealing a car from the nearby city of Carcassonne where he lived.

The 25-year-old Moroccan-born French national was known to authorities for drug-dealing and other petty crimes.

He had also been under surveillance by security services in 2016-2017 for links to the radical Salafist movement, Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said.

Witnesses said the attacker scurried through the aisles of the large Super U store. ( Reuters: Regis Duvignau )

Witnesses said they hid inside a cold storage room when Lakdim — wielding a pistol in one hand and a knife in the other — scurried through the aisles of the large Super U store.

Most escaped a while later through an emergency exit.

Mr Beltrame, a qualified parachutist who served for a spell in Iraq in 2005, took the place of a female hostage inside the supermarket.

After making the swap, Mr Beltrame managed to secretly place his mobile phone, with an open line, on a table near himself and Lakdim.

"That way we were able to hear what was going on at a given moment," Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said.

Mr Molins said the gunman opened fire on Mr Beltrame, critically wounding him.

The sound of that shooting prompted commando units to storm the building, when they killed the gunman.

Mr Beltrame was raced to hospital but later died from his injuries. Two others died during the siege.

Mr Beltrame was in his mid-40s and also worked as part of the elite Republican Guard that protects the Elysee Palace offices and the president's residence in Paris.

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Policeman 'in supermarket attack simulation last year'

In December, in an interview with the local Independent newspaper, Mr Beltrame said he had taken part in an attack simulation in Carcassonne that centred around a mass attack in a supermarket.

"A mass killing took place in a supermarket. This is the only information that was given to the police," he was quoted by the newspaper as saying, describing the simulation scenario.

"We want to be closer to real conditions, so there is no pre-established scenario."

His death brings the toll from the attack to five, including the attacker.

Map Location of the town of Trebes in Aude, southern France.

Reuters