France

He said France would not surrender its core values after visiting the Notre-Dame basilica in the southern city. An extra 4,000 troops are being deployed to protect churches and schools.

In Nice, one elderly victim was "virtually beheaded", officials said. Another woman and a man also died.

A male suspect was shot and detained.

Anti-terror prosecutors have opened an investigation into the attack and France has raised its national security alert to its highest level.

Mr Macron said that under the new measures, starting on Friday, people would only be allowed to leave home for essential work or medical reasons.

Non-essential businesses, such as restaurants and bars, will close, but schools and factories will remain open.

Covid daily deaths in France are at the highest level since April. On Tuesday, 33,000 new cases were confirmed.

Mr Macron said the country risked being "overwhelmed by a second wave that no doubt will be harder than the first".

The other detainees include four family members of the killer, a father at the school and a known Islamist radical.

Police carried out some 40 raids on the homes of suspected radicals on Monday and more raids are expected.

The brutal killing has shocked France.

Tens of thousands of people took part in rallies across the country on Sunday to honour Mr Paty and defend freedom of speech. A ceremony paying tribute to Mr Paty, who was 47, will be held at the Sorbonne University in Paris on Wednesday.

The cities of Lyon, Lille, Grenoble and Saint-Etienne will become zones of maximum alert from Saturday.

Bars and restaurants will have to close, as they did in Paris earlier this week and Marseille last month.

The measures were announced as France saw a near-record 18,129 new cases.

"The situation has deteriorated in several metropolises in recent days," French Health Minister Olivier Veran said at a news conference on Thursday. "Every day, more and more people are infected."

Just over 53 percent of the electorate opted for the status quo in the second of three possible referendums under the Noumea Accord.

180,000 voters, who are on a roll restricted to indigenous Kanaks and long-term residents, were allowed to decide whether the territory should assume full sovereignty.

The results showed a sharp divide between the two camps, with some communes voting with more than 90 percent either for or against independence.

Named Alex, the storm brought fierce winds and torrential rain.

A number of villages north of Nice in France suffered serious damage from floods and landslides, with roads, bridges and homes destroyed.

In north-western Italy, flooding was described as "historic". A section of a bridge over the Sesia river collapsed.

French Prime Minister Jean Castex has deployed the army and released emergency funds to tackle the worst floods for decades in south-eastern France.

Up to 20 people are either missing or have not checked in with relatives.

Health authorities reported 9,843 new confirmed Covid-19 cases on Thursday, surpassing the previous daily record by almost 900.

The figures were released on the eve of a key meeting of ministers and health experts about toughening measures.

France has the seventh-highest Covid-19 death toll in the world.

More than 30,800 people in the country have died of coronavirus.

He gained international support - and became a symbol of campaigns to protect the sounds of the French countryside - after finding himself at the centre of a legal dispute over noise pollution.

But in 2019, a court ruled in Maurice's favour and lived out the rest of his days at home on the isle of Oléron.

The bird reportedly died in May but his owner waited to break the news.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced an enforced lockdown, a step similar to curbs imposed by Italy and Spain, saying: "We're in a health war".

Mr Macron also said the European Union's external borders would be closed to travellers from Tuesday.

In Germany, most non-grocery shops and venues have been ordered to shut.

Chancellor Angela Merkel also banned religious services and told people to cancel any domestic or foreign holiday travel. Schools across the country have already been shut.

The three heavyweights were drawn together in a tough-looking Group F for next year's tournament, with a play-off contestant still to be added.

France and Germany will enter as winners of the past two World Cups, while Portugal are preparing to defend the trophy they unexpectedly won in 2016.

Santos' side were also crowned inaugural Nations League champions in June but the wily 65-year-old coach quickly positioned his team as underdogs.

"It will be a strong group, two favourites and a candidate," Santos told reporters.