A man, whose name has not been released, killed himself and her mother-in-law on Monday following a six-hour long standoff in Dijon, eastern France.

The man, who was in his thirties, barricaded himself around 3pm in his appartement with his ex-in-laws who had come upon a request made by their daughter to collect personal items that she had left behind when the two broke up.

When the young woman realized her parents were not coming back, she drove to her ex-partner's appartement. When she arrived at the scene, shortly after 4pm, she heard a gunshot and alerted the authorities.

Around 9:15 local time, police had managed to establish a contact with the man which only lasted a few minutes.

According to reports, police forces had evacuated the area and were preparing to launch an assault soon before realizing the man had killed himself.