While France has a long history of hefty overspending, economists say political turmoil – which has stalled policymaking – is bringing the country’s debt problem to a head.

President Emmanuel Macron’s inability to find a government that can pass a new budget is hobbling his efforts to influence Europe’s agenda.

Two larger groups of migrants have been returned to France in what the home secretary has described as a "ramping up" of the "one in, one out" agreement. Nine people were removed on Thursday, in addition to a group of 10 last week,

France can take a giant step towards securing its place at the 2026 World Cup when it hosts Azerbaijan on Friday.

The leaders of Britain, France and Germany said on Friday they had agreed in a phone call to move towards using the value of immobilised Russian assets to support Ukraine's armed forces.

Emmanuel Macron does not plan to name a prime minister from the left later on Friday, disappointed leftist party chiefs said after crunch talks with the French president, suggesting his future government will be as fragile as those that preceded it.

Macron now has the tricky task of picking a PM who can find a compromise with rivals over the budget and how to reduce spending.

France's political uncertainty is costing the country at least 0.2 percentage points of economic growth and risks further sapping business and consumer confidence, central bank chief Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on Friday.