Paris (CNN) -- Children who were taken hostage at a school in eastern France Monday were released unharmed and the man who held them was arrested, the mayor of the town of Besancon told CNN.
They were led out by the teacher as calmly as if they were going for a walk, Mayor Jean-Louis Fousseret told CNN affiliate BFM TV.
Armed with two swords, the hostage-taker had entered a kindergarten and took children hostage Monday morning, the French Ministry of Education said.
The father of one of the hostages said he was "very afraid" for his child, but that the students had confidence in their teacher.
"The teacher was very, very calm and confident. She helped them," Babacar Kebe told BFM. "I have not asked them questions because they are very young and I don't want them to get upset".
There were about 20 children, aged 4 to 6, in the classroom when the incident began, and five children and their teacher were held until the incident was resolved, Besancon police told CNN.
The hostage-taker is about 17 years old, and had "demands," the Ministry of Education said, without specifying what they were. CNN
