A man has been arrested after two women were held hostage in central Paris for several hours, police have said.

       Police said they attended the scene, reported to be a hardware shop, in the French capital’s 12th arrondissement on Monday afternoon.

       One hostage was released hours later that evening. The second woman was held overnight and released on Tuesday morning.

       Both were unharmed, authorities said.

       Terrorism has reportedly been ruled out as the motive behind the hostage situation, which took place in Rue d'Aligre, a shop-lined road not far from Place de la Bastille and Gare de Lyon.

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       A French soldier stands guard at the scene of a hostage situation in Paris

       (AFP via Getty Images)

       The suspect was armed with a knife, Le Parisien reported. The newspaper said the two hostages were the owner of the hardware shop and her daughter.

       Images showed armed officers and members of the French Research and Intervention Brigade (BRI) police unit, who acted as negotiators, outside the shop on Monday.

       Gerald Darmanin, France’s interior minister, said on Tuesday morning that the suspect had been arrested.

       “No one was injured,” he said, thanking the authorities involved.

       The Paris police force said the first hostage was released just before 10pm local time on Monday.

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       After 8am local time on Tuesday morning, the Paris Police Prefecture said the suspect had released the second hostage.

       Shortly after, the force tweeted: “Hostage taker arrested.”