AN ARMED man is involved in a stand off with police in a southern France hotel.

It is understood the man is armed with a knife as well as possible explosives in the Provence hotel.

Local media has now reported the man, holed up in the Formule 1 hotel, has a suspicious bag.

with police sniffer dogs called in.

1 The man holed himself up into the Formule 1 hotel, forcing the area to be evacuated

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Police have now set up a perimeter, evacuating 250m around the hotel located in Bollene, Vaucluse.

The hotel has also been evacuated with the A7 motorway also closed.

Local media has reported that emergency services, including fire fighters, are at the scene.

A police spokesman told Reuters: "A deranged man is holed up in the Formule 1 hotel."