French special forces evacuated 18 people from a mall near Paris today after gunmen tried to hold up a Primark store inside, in what is believed to be an attempt to rob the shop, police said.


The gunmen -- one of whom was thought to be a Primark employee -- were still on the loose and believed to be inside the Qwartz mall in Villeneuve-la-Garenne just north of Paris.


"Around 6:30 am, three armed criminals went into the Primark store for what we think was initially an attempt at armed robbery," said a police source, who wished to remain anonymous. "But we don't know whether they are still there."


An employee first alerted her boyfriend of the hold-up at around 7 am when she sent him a text message saying they had been taken hostage by two armed men, another source said.


The area around the mall was shut down, all traffic stopped and other stores in the vicinity closed up as special forces rushed to the scene. The mall was promptly evacuated but according to police, some 18 employees had remained inside, holed up in a canteen.