French special forces evacuated 18 people who had been hiding in a mall near Paris on Monday after gunmen attacked a Primark store inside the centre, police said.

The armed men burst into the store at 6.30am (0430 GMT) for what police believe was an attempt to rob the shop, and frightened employees are thought to have fled and taken refuge in a canteen in the mall, a police source said, adding authorities were still looking for the gunmen.