At a remote spot deep in the French countryside, Britons Bob and Diane Kirkwood have created an eco-friendly refuge that is like taking a step back in time.

Judges have described Dominique Strauss-Kahn as "king of the party" and the "linchpin" of soirees with prostitutes that resembled "carnage on a pile of mattresses", in a damning indictment of the disgraced former International Monetary Fund chief.

Paris has launched a new kind of tourist guide: not a guide for tourists, but a guide to different types of tourists.

Two wheels is the ideal way to travel the back roads, writes Trish Murphy.

A train carrying hundreds of passengers derailed and crashed into a station outside Paris on the eve of a major holiday weekend.

When Francois Hollande became France's leader, it was with the insistence that he was a man of the people, who despised patriotic pomp and shunned the splendours of the Elysee Palace and its use as a political prop.

France's Government spies on its own citizens in the same way as the United States, it was claimed yesterday.

Although I spend lengthy periods every year living in a town of about 12,000 people in southern France I sometimes forget the two, sometimes three-hour lunch.

The French are increasingly shunning the traditional baguette, opting instead for cereal at breakfast, biscuits at tea time and pasta and rice dinners.

The Eiffel Tower's lifts have ground to a halt as an industrial dispute over security and working conditions brought workers at the Paris monument out on strike.

Step into the catacombs and find a fascinatingly grisly scene, writes Trudy Lefeber.

Funded by the European Union to the tune of $140 million, a deft bit of reinvention has turned France's drug and crime epicentre into the nation's Capital of Culture. Jenna Hand goes along for the ride.

Vincent Autin and Bruno Boileau were pronounced "spouses" at their wedding.

A man from the French Riviera town of Nice has been arrested on suspicion of eating part of his 95-year-old grandmother.

A far-right writer and activist has killed himself at the altar of Paris' famed Notre Dame Cathedral, after calling for "spectacular" action to protect France's identity.

Julia Shallcrass discovers Topdeck bus tours provide the swiftest way to see Europe and make new friends.

A 48-year-old divorced Briton locked in a bitter custody battle has confessed that he killed his two young children by slitting their throats in Lille, France.

What's in store for Paris's iconic Hotel de Crillon? Samuel Muston takes the long view.

Eurostar's latest service takes you straight to the heart of foodie France. Andy Lynes climbs aboard.

Gay marriage has been legalised by Parliament - but it is still banned by most of New Zealand's 10 main religions, a new Herald survey shows.