French police: Gunman takes 2 people hostage at central Paris bank

PARIS – French police say a gunman is holding a man and a woman hostage at a central Paris bank as a protest over social housing.

Four hostages were originally held Friday at a CIC branch, but two have since been freed.

More than a dozen police officers have been deployed outside the bank, which is near Paris' busy shopping district of Place de l'Italie, and have blocked off roads around the area, according to police.

Police say the gunman took the hostages to protest that he wasn't eligible to get social housing, although how the gunman delivered this message to the police wasn't immediately clear.