Assailant seizes hostages in northern France - police source

Several hostages were being held by an assailant in a bank in the northern French port town of Le Havre on Thursday and elite tactical police officers are being deployed, a police source said.

The source said six hostages were initially taken but two had been subsequently released. Police have cordoned off the area and are urging the public to stay clear of the bank on Boulevard de Strasbourg in the city centre, the local prefecture said.

Le Havre's new mayor is Edouard Philippe, President Emmanuel Macron's former prime minister who resigned in early July.