Botched bank raid was 'revenge attack'

Police believe the botched raid on a French bank was a revenge attack after the suspect was fired from his job at the bank.

Officers have formally arrested a 27-year-old man in connection with the incident that left three people dead.

Habib Mezaoui is charged with theft and attempted robbery accompanied by manslaughter.

The bank's branch director, another employee and a motorist were shot and killed during the hold-up on Saturday.

Seven others were injured, three of them seriously, in the raid at the Caisse d'Epargne bank in the Paris suburb of Cergy-Pontoise.

"His first words after seeing me this morning were for the families of the victims," Mezaoui's defence lawyer, Sylvie Bennet-Lafay, said. "He regrets what happened."

Police believe the botched raid was a revenge attack after the suspect was sacked.

Investigators said they did not understand why the suspect stayed in the bank for three hours.

He made employees open safes and cash distributors that contained several hundred thousand French francs but left without taking any money.

Mezaoui, who was slightly injured during the raid, is under surveillance in a hospital outside Paris.