David Davis will travel to Paris on Monday for Brexit talks days after French President Emmanuel Macron suggested Britain would need to up its divorce payment offer to unlock trade negotiations.

France has marked a national moment of silence in memory of the 84 people killed in the Nice truck attack, as thousands of people massed on the city's waterfront promenade.

Germany , Italy, and France have agreed to develop a European drone programme for reconnaissance and surveillance, seeking to inject momentum into a proposal first considered in 2013 to reduce reliance on US and Israeli technology.

Up to 10,000 troops are to be deployed to protect sensitive sites.

France has ordered 10,000 troops on to the streets to protect sensitive sites - half of them to guard Jewish schools – as it hunts for accomplices to the Islamic militants who left 17 people dead as they terrorised the nation.

Nearly 5,000 police officers have been deployed to protect Jewish schools across France as the country remains on the highest state of alert after last week's terror attacks.

French president Francois Hollande has approved a new Cabinet that includes his ex-companion Segolene Royal as minister of environment and energy.

French troops backed by a helicopter traded fire with suspected former rebels today in a neighbourhood rife with sectarian tensions, within hours of the arrival of France’s military chief in the Central African Republic capital.

French troops have begun military operations in the Central African Republic, trying to quell violence in the capital a day after armed Christian fighters raided Muslim neighbourhoods, leaving nearly 100 people dead.

Troops from 13 African countries that took part in the French-led war against al Qaida-linked extremists in Mali marched with the French military during the Bastille Day parade in Paris to honour their role in the conflict.

French anti-terrorism investigators were last night hunting for an attacker who stabbed a soldier in Paris, as authorities continued to search for links with the brutal killing of British serviceman Lee Rigby.

French troops, backed by helicopters and planes, have advanced on the key Malian town of Diabaly, seized a week ago by Islamic extremists.

French troops have encircled a key Malian town to stop radical Islamists from striking closer to the capital, a French official said.

France is on a heightened state of alert after President Francois Hollande raised terror threat levels.

French air strikes in Mali have driven back Islamist rebels from a key city and destroyed a militant command centre, the French defence minister said today.

The international community should consider enforcing a no-fly zone over parts of Syria, France’s defence minister said.

France's new president Francois Hollande arrived in Afghanistan today to meet troops, the country's president and discuss plans for an early pull-out.

French president Francois Hollande’s new Socialist-led government adopted a 30% pay cut today, a gesture of shared sacrifice by leaders who must now reduce the country’s massive debts and tackle spiralling unemployment.

IRELAND has the largest exhibition of farm machinery outside of French firms at the SPACE livestock and agricultural equipment trade show, which opened at Rennes yesterday and continues until Friday.