France

French police were hunting a suspected suitcase bomber after an explosion in the central city of Lyon that injured 13 people, officials said.

The suspected Christchurch mosque gunman sent money to a French far-right group and once bought a ticket to Bavaria's "fairytale castle," German police said.

At least 12 people have died in southwestern France when some of the worst flash floods in a century turned rivers into raging torrents that engulfed homes and swept away cars.

A 34-year old British man was shot dead by a hunter while cycling in the French Alps, police said.

Police scoured the background of a Chechnya-born Frenchman who killed a man in a knife attack in Paris, questioning the parents and a friend of the 21-year old, who had been flagged previously as a potential security risk.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that further Western attacks on Syria would bring chaos to world affairs, as Washington prepared to increase pressure on Russia with new economic sanctions.

French police have found a painting by 19th century master Edgar Degas that was stolen nine years ago from a museum in Marseille in the luggage compartment of a bus near Paris.

Emmanuel Macron and Rihanna may not usually move in the same circles, but the French president and pop star joined forces to champion education for the world's poorest countries.

Axe-wielding robbers stole jewellery possibly worth more than $US5 million from a store in the famed Ritz Paris hotel, police said.

In tight-knit groups, Chinese tourists walked around Paris on their guard, alarmed by a recent mugging and other attacks targeting Asian visitors.

Two women were stabbed to death and their assailant shot dead by a soldier in the southern French port city of Marseille in what officials described as a "likely terrorist act".

France's Winter Olympics team will not travel to the 2018 Games in South Korea if its security cannot be guaranteed, showing the first major doubts by a participating nation about growing North Korean tensions.

More than 220,000 people have signed a petition against French President Emmanuel Macron's plans to create a formal First Lady role for his wife Brigitte.