One's first reaction to the hostage situation in Roubaix, in northern France close to the Belgian border, was "oh, not again", but it turns out to be something different. A gang of armed robbers took a bank manager hostage and demanded to be taken to the branch where he worked. By chance the car was stopped for a control, and he escaped telling the police what was going on. (fortunately the police believed him, we can imagine them saying "pull the other one, monsieur). An exchange of shots was heard and some of the gang went into the house, taking his wife and children hostage. Others fled.
Officers of the armed reaction group went to the house and freed the remaining hostages unharmed, one of the criminals being shot dead in the process. The procureur said it was a case of "grand banditisme", and had no terrorist implications.
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