France aims to "respond positively" to requests from Benin and other countries for air support and intelligence to combat Islamist militants, a French official said on Wednesday, as French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in the West African state.

French President Emmanuel Macron began a three-country African tour Tuesday. He promised more defense cooperation and an honest look at the past.

French President Emmanuel Macron has kicked off a three-day visit to Algeria with economic ties on the agenda, as well as a bid to reset often tense relations between Paris and Algiers. Also in this edition: Angola's ruling party edges closer to an election win after the tightest presidential race in decades. Finally, in Senegal, hundreds of plastic recycling plants are to be built to crack down on pollution.

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with newly appointed British Prime Minister Liz Truss on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, just a few weeks after Truss had raised eyebrows with comments about him.

The 27-year-old is the first party chief who is not a member of the Le Pen family. He takes over from Marine Le Pen, who stepped down from the leadership ahead of her unsuccessful 2022 run for the presidency.

The world climate conference, COP-27, has kicked off in Egypt in a year of global crises. Weather disasters, food shortages, and the war in Ukraine underscore the urgency facing the delegates from nearly 200 countries.

The Azeri president accused his French counterpart of siding with Armenia over the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. Macron was due to mediate new EU-brokered talks in Brussels next month.

French prosecutors are investigating the alleged role of consulting companies in election campaigns, as well as allegations of favoritism. President Emmanuel Macron claims his campaign is not the focus of the probe.

French President Emmanuel Macron is on a state visit to Washington. This week's visit should mark the end of a quarrel between the two countries, and could also underscore a certain Franco-German entente.

French President Emmanuel Macron's state visit to the US is bringing simmering EU-US tensions over economic policy to the boil. At the heart of European criticisms are multi-billion-dollar economic support packages that could be perceived as giving the US an unfair advantage. Also in the show, the US Congress is heeding Joe Biden's call to do whatever it takes to avert a costly railroad shutdown. Plus, French butchers take to the streets to protest the rise in energy prices.

In a speech to soldiers in southwestern France, the president said he wanted the military to be ready for "high intensity" conflicts of the future. Paris now plans to spend an extra €118 billion before 2030.

Top government officials from Germany and France are meeting in Paris to pay tribute to the historic treaty that has underpinned six decades of cooperation between their two countries.