Paris - French drivers seething over high fuel prices have vowed to snarl traffic across the country Saturday in a widely supported protest that could prove the trickiest so far for President Emmanuel Macron.

Bohal - Jacline Mouraud, an accordionist whose YouTube tirade over rising fuel prices propelled her to the fore of a French motorists' revolt, hopes Saturday's blockade of roads will be the beginning of something big.

Paris - Tariq Ramadan, a leading Islamic scholar held in France since February on charges of raping two women, was released on bail Friday after he persuaded judges he was not a flight threat.

Tulle - A French court on Friday sentenced a woman who kept her baby hidden in the maggot-infested boot of her car to two years in jail for negligence causing mental disability.

Paris - Beleaguered at home, belittled abroad, Emmanuel Macron of France and Germany's Angela Merkel will use a Berlin meeting on Sunday to bolster their alliance as champions of a united Europe fraught with resurgent nationalism.

Paris - Tariq Ramadan, a leading Islamic scholar held in France since February on charges he raped two women, on Thursday won conditional release as the allegations continued to be investigated, his lawyer told AFP.

Strasbourg - Europe's top rights court condemned Russia on Thursday over a series of arrests of the outspoken Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, calling them "politically motivated" attempts to curtail opposition to President Vladimir Putin's government.

Bobigny - A French court on Thursday acquitted former government minister Georges Tron of raping two employees during foot-massaging sessions in his office.

Paris - President Emmanuel Macron has promised to attune himself more to grassroots France as he tries to dispel a reputation for arrogance and rekindle his flagging popularity.

Strasbourg - The European Court of Human Rights ruled Thursday that Russia's repeated arrests of opposition leader Alexei Navalny were politically motivated and violated his rights.

Paris - A proposed Brexit withdrawal agreement is "good news for the French economy", but Paris must keep an eye on its implementation, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Thursday.

Strasbourg - Top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny heads Thursday to the European Court of Human Rights which will rule on whether his repeated arrests were politically motivated.

Paris - The Mayor of Paris wants to pedestrianise the historic centre of the French capital, a member of her team has told AFP, an area encompassing famous landmarks like the Louvre museum and Notre Dame Cathedral.

Paris - President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that "allies owe each other respect", after he was assailed on Twitter by US President Donald Trump after his visit to France for World War I commemorations.

Paris - Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado called Wednesday for a multinational effort to help end the political crisis gripping neighbouring Nicaragua, a conflict which risks destabilising other Latin American nations.

Paris - A "super-Earth" has been discovered orbiting the closest single star to our Sun, scientists said Wednesday in a breakthrough that could shine a light on Earth's nearest planetary neighbours.

Tulle - Relatives of a woman who hid her baby in the maggot-invested trunk of a car insisted Wednesday that they had no idea of her secret, at a trial that has drawn horror in France.

Paris - The French government on Wednesday attempted to head off planned protests over rising fuel costs by announcing a series of measures to help poorer families pay their bills.

Paris - Three years after jihadists gunned down and blew up 130 people in Paris, it's lone-wolf assaults rather than coordinated attacks that are keeping French anti-terror investigators on alert.

Strasbourg - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday made a clear call for a future European army, in an apparent rebuke to US President Donald Trump who has called such proposals "very insulting".