PARIS (AFP) - A hostage-taking Friday that saw four people seized at a bank in Paris has ended with the gunman giving himself up, the police said.

The armed man surrendered around 5pm GMT, about two hours after he had entered the bank, the police said.

"He gave himself up after negotiations," releasing a final female hostage he had kept after giving up three others, a police source said.

The man entered the branch of CIC bank in Paris's southern 13th district around 2.50pm GMT with a handgun and was demanding social housing for himself and his son.

He took three women and a man hostage but quickly released two of the women and, 90 minutes later, released the man.

One of the bank's employees managed to trigger an alarm shortly after the man entered the bank.

The police had cordoned off the area, blocking traffic, setting up a perimeter and putting snipers on nearby rooftops.