The incident is taking place in Villeneuve-la-Garenne, just to the northwest of the capital, at a Primark store.
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It is believed it to be an armed robbery although as of yet, no demands have been made.
Special police units are surrounding the clothes store, police said.
Gunmen are holding up a store with at least 10 people inside near Paris, the AFP news agency has reported.
They add that though ten staff are unaccounted for, they can not confirm that all have been taken hostage.
Police have stopped all traffic in the area around the Quartz mall and all other shops in the vicinity have closed. France is still on high alert since the attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo earlier this year.
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The official said the assailants were trying to rob the store and entered around 6:30 a.m. (0430GMT) Monday.
