deaths

Days of heavy rainfall followed by violent storms have caused flash flooding, with the southern Var département (county) hit worst.

A 33 year-old Australian died after jumping from a 2,600-metre peak, while a 52 year-old Frenchman is thought to have hit a rockface.

A total of 304 people were killed in accidents on France's roads last month compared with 344 in the same period in 2013.

A French charity reports that at least 453 homeless died around France in 2013, calling for a public remembrance ceremony on March 18th.

The 21,341 recorded bird deaths were mostly Atlantic puffins, guillemots and razor-billed auks which starved after winds blew them off course. 

Several unused IV nutrient bags from the same batch given to the newborns who died were found to have traces of bacteria, says hospital.

The young couple were shot at close range as they sat at a café terrace in a southern district of the capital, the gunman escaping.

President visits Central African Republic following killing of two soldiers in firefight near main airport during French troops' bid to restore calm.

French foreign minister Laurent Fabius urges Egyptian military and police to show 'maximum restraint' in face of protests by Muslim Brotherhood.

Seven men drowned over the weekend off six different beaches on France's Mediterranean coast amid high winds and strong currents.

Three other children among a group aged three to eight were found unconscious in a pond by a hotel where they lived in temporary accomodation.

Expert says 18,000 people die as a result of the side effects of certain medications, many of which are handed out under unjustified prescriptions.

The victim was a French corporal who was tracking down jihadist fighters in their northern Mali mountain bastions, officials said.

Drug designed to combat acne but which was also prescribed as a female contraceptive caused four deaths, says France's drug safety agency.

Five people, including a child, were killed in an overnight fire that swept their apartment in the suburb of Gennevilliers, north of Paris.