A 55-year-old German national, who was arrested on Monday after his wife accused him of keeping her prisoner in their home in the French town of Forbach since 2011, has been released after police found no evidence to support the claim.
The French weekly Journal du Dimanche (JDD) was back in production at the weekend following the arrival of far-right sympathiser Geoffroy Lejeune as its editor-in-chief and the end of a 40-day strike by its editorial staff opposed to his his appointment, many of whom have now left the paper.
An international swimming competition to be held in the River Seine in Paris this weekend was cancelled after recent heavy rainfall caused a spill of raw sewage into the water, raising questions over the swimming events in the river planned as part of next summer's Olympic Games in the French capital.
The leaders of a military coup who took power in Niger in late July have announced they are cutting military ties with France, which has around 1,500 troops stationed in its former West African colony fighting jihadist insurgents in the region, while the junta also dismissed the Nigerien ambassador to France.
The delivery to a Swiss maritime company in June of a 184,011-tonne, luxury cruise liner built at the French port of Saint-Nazaire, at a cost of 1 billion euros, has helped turn around France's second-quarter exports, up by 2.6% in value against the first quarter.
The strike of journalists at French weekly Journal du Dimanche (JDD), which began on June 22nd in protest at the appointment of outspoken far-right journalist and pundit Geoffroy Lejeune, 34, as new editor-in-chief of the publication, ended on Monday.
As tensions mount in Niger, where supporters of last week's coup attacked the French embassy on Sunday, Paris is hoping to begin flights to evacuate its nationals, and those of other European Union countries, on Tuesday.
France has firmly denied accusations by the leaders of last week's military coup in Niger that it is planning military intervention to reinstate the West African country's deposed president Mohamed Bazoum.
"Anyone attacking French nationals, the army, diplomats or French bases would see France retaliate immediately and intractably," the Elysée Palace warned in a statement.
