French authorities arrest Telegram chief Pavel Durov at Paris airport

Telegram founder and chief executive Pavel Durov has been detained at an airport in Paris (Aleksey Zotov/Alamy/PA)

The founder and chief executive of the popular encrypted messaging service Telegram has been detained at an airport in Paris, French media reported on Sunday.

Pavel Durov was held at Paris-Le Bourget airport on Saturday evening after arriving in France from Azerbaijan, according to broadcasters LCI and TF1.