Spain takes drastic measures to stop Catalonia from breaking away, announcing plans to dismiss its separatist government and call fresh elections in a move the region's leader compared to the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.

Kylian Mbappe is so good he could one day emulate the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo by winning the Ballon d'Or, his France international team-mate Blaise Matuidi says.

A host of French-owned fashion labels spanning Christian Dior to Saint Laurent has pledged to ban ultra-thin models from their advertising and catwalk shows following repeated scandals about anorexia and mistreatment.

French President Emmanuel Macron invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to Paris as his first foreign guest, while US President Donald Trump will attend this year's Bastille Day celebrations.

Belgium's David Goffin defeated Italy's Paolo Lorenzi in straight sets to seal a 3-1 Davis Cup victory for the hosts in Charleroi and a semifinal showdown with Australia.

France will meet Serbia in the semi-finals of the Davis Cup after both finished off their last-eight ties inside two days on Saturday but Australia and Belgium were made to sweat.

The oldest fossils ever found are "direct evidence" of life on Earth 3.8 to 4.3 billion years ago when our planet was still in its infancy, researchers report.

Olympique Lyonnais have signed Dutch winger Memphis Depay from Manchester United on a four and a half year contract, the French Ligue 1 club said on Friday.

Hosting the Euro 2016 football tournament cost France less than 200 million euros ($211 million) but brought some 1.22 billion euros into the country, according to figures released by the ministry of sports Tuesday.

Mario Balotelli was handed a two-match ban Thursday after being sent off for an off-the-ball incident in last month's 0-0 draw at Bordeaux, his club Nice said.

Cagey veteran Richard Gasquet led France to a 2-1 win over Germany at the mixed teams Hopman Cup in Perth on Monday.

Nice fans are dreaming of seeing their Mario Balotelli-fuelled underdogs do a Leicester and steal the French title from the likes of crisis-stricken Paris Saint-Germain.

Colombian striker Radamel Falcao scored twice as Monaco thrashed Bastia 5-0 to move top of Ligue 1 on Saturday, while French champions Paris Saint-Germain crashed to a shock 3-0 defeat at Montpellier.

Nice return to the top of Ligue 1 after drawing 1-1 at home to Bastia but champions Paris St Germain move to within a point of the leaders as an Edinson Cavani double earns them a 2-1 victory at Lyon.

Karolina Pliskova and Barbora Strycova clinched the Czech Republic's fifth Fed Cup title in six years on Sunday after beating France in the the deciding doubles rubber in Strasbourg.

Rock star Sting headlined a concert in Paris' Bataclan music hall on Saturday to mark the venue's reopening a year after three Islamist militants gunned down 90 revellers in France's bloodiest terror attack.

Kingsley Coman has been ruled out injured with Thomas Lemar getting his first France callup for Friday's 2018 World Cup

The end of the French Ligue 1 match between Nantes and Toulouse on Saturday was marred by trouble as unhappy home supporters tried to get into the president's box.

Table-toppers Nice suffered their first Ligue 1 defeat of the season on Sunday when they went down 1-0 after a hotly disputed penalty at Caen.

Look ahead to Tuesday's Champions League action as champions Real Madrid go on the goal trail against minnows Legia Warsaw.