The Latest Breaking News from Sarah Meyssonnier

When police came knocking on the door of his eastern Paris home on July 16, 1942, 15-year-old French Jew Joseph Schwartz was no longer there. Forewarned, he and his father Lejbus had gone into hiding.

A motion of no-confidence brought against French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne by a broad left-wing alliance failed in a vote in the National Assembly on Monday after opposition conservative MPs and the far-right opted not to vote, a count showed.

Emmanuel Macron's offer to soften planned pension reforms is a "manoeuvre" to lure voters ahead of the second round of France's presidential election, but he would still execute the original plans if re-elected, far-right candidate Marine Le Pen said.

With France's presidential race tightening ahead of Sunday's first round vote, favourites President Emmanuel Macron and far-right challenger Marine Le Pen battled over pension reform in broadcast interviews on Monday.

French President Emmanuel Macron warned of the risk of a Brexit-style election upset in his only campaign rally before the first round of the presidential election, in a bid to convince dispirited voters and re-energise a lacklustre campaign.

The mainstream Conservative challenger in France's presidential election said on Thursday she would push for a hefty increase in defence spending, and laid into the pro-Russia views previously expressed by rivals further right along the political spectrum.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, whose campaign for the presidency has been shaken by a series of defections, told a campaign meeting she has what it takes to bounce back after overcoming many challenges in her personal life.