Police say a security operation is ongoing at the courthouse in Nimes, southern France, after local media reported a man shot himself on the premises.
Police asked on Twitter for people to stay away from the area, which has been cordoned off.
The man is said to have died in the hall of the court of appeal at about 8.20am on Friday, the franceinfo website reported Nimes public prosecutor Eric Maurel as saying.
Mr Maurel said it was believed the man may have entered the courthouse through a staff entrance where there is no metal detector, franceinfo added.
Explosives experts are reportedly at the scene, daily newspaper Midi Libre reports.
