Bernard Cazeneuve has taken over as France's Prime Minister after Manuel Valls stepped down to focus on running for president in next year's election.

France’s interior minister has authorised local authorities to impose curfews if needed after the deadliest attacks in the country since the Second World War.

A gunman who attacked passengers on a high-speed train in France two days ago is "dumbfounded" at having been taken for an Islamist militant and says he only intended to rob people on board because he was hungry, his lawyer said on Sunday. 

The French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve has accused Eurotunnel of not doing enough in light of the “worsening situation” in Calais.