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For the third day running, French university students continued to mount protests on Wednesday over poor living conditions, prompted by the self-immolation of a student in Lyon who had cited his financial problems as the reason for his act.

Raymond Poulidor, who during a 17-year career finished on the podium of the Tour de France eight times from 1962 to 1976 and won one silver and three bronze medals in World Championship road races, and whose name is still chanted by crowds during the Tour, has died at the age of 83.

Several ceremonies were held in Paris on Wednesday to mark the anniversary of the terrorist attacks in and around the capital on the evening of November 13th 2015, when 130 people died in a wave of shootings and bombings carried out by jihadists from the so-called Islamic State group.

A premiere in Paris of Roman Polanski's latest film 'An Officer and a Spy' was cancelled after feminist militants blocked the cinema in a protest against the alleged impunity of the France-based director who, wanted in the US since 1978 for the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl, and publicly accused of several rapes, now faces a fresh allegation that he raped a French actress in 1975.

Large numbers of packages containing what the authorities describe as 'very pure cocaine' along with other drugs have been found on beaches along a lengthy strip of France's Atlantic coast over recent weeks, with those found so far estimated to have a potential street value of about 60 million euros.

An earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale was felt across parts of southern France on Monday, centred on the town of Montélimar where it caused serious injuries to at least one person and damaged buildings, leading to the closure of a nuclear power plant and local schools.

Marchers estimated to number 13,500 marched in Paris on Sunday following several recent incidents of Islamophobia in France, including an arson and shooting attack against a mosque in south-west France, while a number of leftwing parties did not take part arguing that organisers opposed the country's constitutional principles regarding secularity.

German foreign minister Heiko Maas, reacting to French President Emmanuel Macron's remark last week that the North Atlantic Treatty Organisation, NATO, was 'brain dead', has said that 'without the United States, neither Germany nor Europe will be able to effectively protect themselves'.

The 22-year-old, studying at university in the south-east city of Lyon, posted a message about his dire financial problems on Facebook shortly before setting himself alight in front of a student canteen when he sustained 90% burns.

The French government aims to sell down its stake in the Francaise des Jeux (FDJ) lottery operator from 72% currently to 20% when the shares are due to begin trading on November 21st, hoping raise up to 1.7 billion euros for state funds.