'As many as five hostages' held in Paris grocery store

France has been rocked by a fresh hostage situation after the hunt for the Charlie Hebdo gunmen developed into a siege.

Said and Cherif Kouachi are holed up in an industrial estate with a hostage in a town around 25 miles from Paris following a car chase during which heavy gunfire was reported.

Now multiple reports have emerged of a shoot-out in Porte de Vincennes in eastern Paris.

BREAKING: Paris prosecutor: Gunman with hostages in kosher market in eastern Paris; police SWAT on scene.

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 9, 2015

There were suggestions that there may be as many as five hostages said to have been taken at a kosher supermarket and the area has been evacuated by armed police.

The supermarket in question was named in reports as the Hypercacher Vincennes.

A Twitter user called David who said he was in a restaurant near the scene at Porte de Vincennes reported hearing gunshots.

He wrote: “Everyone is under the tables. The atmosphere is changing between nervous laughter and the first signs of stress.”

He posted images of armed officers crouched at the side of a car, with the message: “Facing hypercasher.”

Face à #hypercasher à #saintmande pic.twitter.com/iYYr3NxanO

— ddlr (@WanelarEdgar) January 9, 2015

EN DIRECT Fusillade et #prise d'otage porte de Vincennes à #paris http://t.co/euaQvHJFaZ #police pic.twitter.com/emyA3JBa2B

— Routeur News (@RouteurNews) January 9, 2015

It also emerged today that authorities believe there is a link between the brothers and the suspected perpetrator of a shooting yesterday in the Parisian suburb of Montrouge in which a female police officer was killed.