The Latest Breaking News from Sebastien Lecornu

The deployment of Western combat troops to fight against Russia on the ground in Ukraine is not on the table, but new ways need to be found to battle the Russian invasion, France's defence minister said Friday.

France and Armenia on Friday hailed growing military cooperation as Armenian leader Nikol Pashinyan seeks to reduce his small country's dependence on former master Russia.

French President Emmanuel Macron could choose a new prime minister as soon as this Monday, as he seeks a new look for a widely criticised government.

The French military helicopter carrier Dixmude has been transformed into a hospital to treat wounded civilians from Gaza, many of them children, as Western countries look to ramp up efforts to aid the beseiged enclave.

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna has said she is open to any resettlement request from tiny South Pacific nations threatened by rising sea levels, similar to Australia’s recent agreement with Tuvalu.

France and the Philippines are considering a defense pact that would allow them to send military forces to each other’s territory for joint exercises

France will send dozens of armoured vehicles to the Lebanese army so it can properly carry out patrol missions in the country, the Defence minister said in remarks published on Monday. This comes as tensions mount between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

France has urged Israel and the Lebanese Islamist group Hezbollah to avoid destabilising the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon – warning that broadening the Israel-Hamas war would plunge Lebanon "into an abyss". However Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday said an escalation of hostilities was "a realistic possibility".

France has announced the sale of defensive equipment to Armenia as Azerbaijan launched military drills with its ally Turkey.