France

Mbappe hurt in France training

The 19-year-old forward appeared to hurt his left ankle in a tackle from defender Adil Rami during a practice match on Tuesday.

Mbappe, who is expected to be a starter in Russia, received treatment from support staff and attempted to play on before leaving the session, placing him in doubt for Saturday's clash with the Socceroos.

Didier Deschamps will hope the knock is only a minor concern after losing both Laurent Koscielny and Dimitri Payet to injury prior to selection of the final 23.

France's other Group C opponents are Denmark and Peru.

     

Underdone All Blacks captain not concerned

Whitelock, who is making his 97th test appearance and is standing in for regular captain Kieran Read, has not played since May 12 due to concussion symptoms.

"I've had a couple of weeks where I haven't played," Whitelock said. "It's frustrating, I always want to be out there if I'm 100 percent fit or even if I'm not.

"At times I'm going to be blowing hard but I think that's normal no matter where you are in a test match."

Parra returns to face the All Blacks

Parra is the most experienced player named by coach Jacques Brunel for the first of three Tests on Saturday.

However, the versatile 66-Test veteran hasn't played since Les Bleus were walloped 62-13 by New Zealand in the quarter-finals of the 2015 World Cup in Cardiff.

The last time Parra ran onto Eden Park was when he was five-eighth in the 2011 World Cup final loss, also to New Zealand.

Experienced French squad named to face All Blacks

Halfback Morgan Parra is back in the French rugby side for the first time since the 2015 World Cup after being named in the 32-man touring party for New Zealand.

The one debutant is 20-year-old hooker Pierre Bourgarit.

Outside back Wesley Fofana also returns to international duty, having last played an international against New Zealand in 2016.

Both players have been plagued by injuries in recent time.

Fofana suffered a neck injury and missed the Six Nations Championship - which marked the beginning of the Jacques Brunel era and saw Les Bleus finish fourth.

France, PNG ties strengthened

He said with the Papua LNG project construction phase on focus, the engagement between the two countries will continue to grow. 

“Our Government is working with French company TOTAL S.A. and other partners to advance Papua New Guinea’s next major gas project,” stated PM O’Neill.

“This project will inject billions of dollars into our economy, and employ and train thousands of Papua New Guineans.

“All parties will continue to advance the Papua LNG project and create new jobs for our people.”

Kaino says au revoir to All Blacks

The 34-year-old, a two-time World Cup winner, made his debut in 2004 and played 81 tests.

He is the third most capped Blues player in history with 127 games to date, behind fellow All Blacks Keven Mealamu (164) and Tony Woodcock (137).

One of the highlights of his All Blacks career was playing all but one minute of the All Blacks' successful 2011 World Cup campaign.

He had a two-year stint overseas playing in Japan before returning to New Zealand and playing his way back into the All Blacks.

Kaino scored 12 test tries.

France to investigate Nutella promotion that led to 'riots'

France has strict rules about the size of discounts that retailers can put on products outside of official sales periods.

Last week, shoppers at Intermarché shops jostled to buy heavily discounted chocolate and hazelnut spread.

It had been discounted by 70% - from €4.50 (£3.90) to €1.40.

Police were called when people began fighting and pushing one another.

"They are like animals. A woman had her hair pulled, an elderly lady took a box on her head, another had a bloody hand," one customer told French media.

Children killed as school bus and train collide

Another 24 people were reported to be seriously injured, in the accident on a railway crossing between Millas and Saint-Féliu-d'Amont.

The students on the bus are reported to be between the ages of 13 and 17.

Pictures from the scene showed the school bus sheared in two by the force of the crash.

Around 70 emergency workers and four helicopters were deployed as part of the rescue effort.

The crash happened on a section of line between Perpignan and Villefranche-de-Conflent, the local news website l'Indépendant reports.

Springboks edge out France in Paris

Having gained the recommendation of the Rugby World Cup board following an independent evaluation report, South Africa were left disgusted when the World Rugby Council awarded France hosting rights for the 2023 tournament on Wednesday.

If that provided additional motivation for Saturday's match in Paris, the Springboks were also fuelled by a desire to bounce back from last weekend's stunning 38-3 defeat to Ireland.

And a much-changed side managed to do just that as tries from Dillyn Leyds and Jesse Kriel proved enough to edge out a France team that struggled for fluency.

France stops its Green Fund

The decision will affect dozens of projects in France's overseas territories.

The overseas minister Annick Giradin has told the National Assembly that the next budget has no provision to feed the fund which was meant to mitigate against climate change.

Ms Girardin said her ministry cannot be the only one taking care of the effects of climate change, suggesting that other ministries and agencies share the responsibility.

The cut affects dozens of projects, including some in French Polynesia worth almost $US30 million.