The Haute Autorite de Sante (HAS), that is France’s top health advisory body, recommended doubling the time between people being given the first and second Covid-19 vaccinations to six weeks from three. The aim is to increase the number getting inoculated, Reuters reported.

The French government told its citizens to wear surgical masks in public instead of fabric face coverings because they offer better protection from COVID-19 transmission, news wires reported. "The recommendation that I make to the French people is to no longer use fabric masks," Health Minister Olivier Veran told TF1 on Thursday evening.

French President Emmanuel Macron warned students on Thursday to expect Covid-19 restrictions to remain in place for much of the remaining academic year.

In a first in Europe, Alphabet’s Google and a group of French publishers said on Thursday they had agreed a general framework over copyrights under which the US tech giant will pay publishers for content online, Reuters reported.

French students have planned a series of protests on Wednesday to draw attention to the rising mental health problems as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, news wires reported. A combination of isolation, inactivity and a broader loss of purpose has left many students close to breakdown, according to university psychologists.

France's former prime minister Edouard Balladur went on trial for illegal campaign funding on Tuesday. He is accused of aiding and abetting the embezzlement of company assets, charges he denies. If found guilty, Balladur could face prison for several years.

President Emmanuel Macron praised French Muslim leaders on Monday after they agreed on a "charter of principles" aimed at combatting sectarianism and radicalised teachings blamed for a surge in jihadist attacks in France in recent years, AFP reported.

France began a nationwide campaign to inoculate people over 75 on Monday as officials sought to ease concerns about deliveries of coronavirus vaccines.

France's Muslim federations agreed on Sunday on a "charter of principles" requested by President Emmanuel Macron in his bid to eradicate sectarianism and extremism in the country, news wires reported. In November, Macron urged the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) to devise the charter, after the jihadist killing of a schoolteacher.

"The European Union and the incoming administration of US President-elect Joe Biden should suspend a trade dispute to give themselves time to find common ground," France’s foreign minister said in remarks published on Sunday.