Robber who took hostages in Montpelier surrenders to authorities

A gunman who seized two hostages in a jewellery boutique in the French city of Montpelier has surrendered to the police after negotiations.

The hostages (an employee and the wife of the boutique's owner) are safe and their health is not affected.

French law enforcers said the Montpelier hostage-taking was a purely criminal incident and had no relation to the series of terrorist attacks in Paris.

Nevertheless, the incident has deeply concerned locals."At first, we were very concerned to see police outfits in the center of city, and thought that the terrorists have reached our region," TASS cited one of them.