Paris

Hundreds fined and dozens arrested as convoy enters Paris

Tear gas was fired in the city as demonstrators defied an order banning the "Freedom Convoy".

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said more than 300 tickets had been handed out and 54 people arrested.

Authorities have deployed more than 7,000 officers over the next three days in a bid to stop the demonstrators.

Despite those efforts, some vehicles managed to arrive at the Arc de Triomphe in the city, and tear gas was fired at demonstrators on the nearby Champs-Élysées avenue.

Notre-Dame fire: Cathedral saved within crucial half hour

Laurent Nuñez praised the "courage and determination" of firefighters who "risked their own lives" to salvage the building's stone structure and its two towers.

The fire ravaged the cathedral's roof and caused its spire to collapse.

French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to rebuild it within five years.

The cause of the blaze is unclear.

"We now know it all came down to 15-30 minutes," Mr Nuñez said, adding that police and fire services would spend the next 48 hours assessing the security and safety of the structure.

Notre-Dame cathedral: Firefighters tackle blaze in Paris

Firefighters are battling to save the 850-year-old Gothic building, but its spire and roof have collapsed.

The cause is not yet clear, but officials say that it could be linked to renovation work.

A Paris fire official said the main structure had now been "saved and preserved".

The Paris prosecutor's office said it has opened an inquiry into "accidental destruction by fire."

Loud bangs could be heard as flames burst through the cathedral's roof, also destroying its stained-glass windows.

Chris Brown released in Paris rape inquiry

An investigation into the alleged incident is continuing, the Paris prosecutor's office said.

The star and two other men were arrested on Monday after a 24-year-old woman alleged she was assaulted in a hotel in the city earlier this month.

After his release, Brown took to social media to deny any wrongdoing.

"I want to make it perfectly clear, this is false," he wrote on Instagram, alongside a picture that said: "This bitch lyin'."

Paris baulks at 'horrible' eco-friendly public urinals

Bright-red, fully exposed, urinals have been placed across the city to reduce peeing on the streets.

But the eco-friendly devices, which are filled with straw and designed to be odourless, have left many unconvinced.

Furious residents are calling for the urinals to be removed and are planning to submit a petition.

One particular urinal, which has been placed near Notre Dame cathedral and overlooks passing tourist boats, has been singled out for criticism.

More climate funding emerges from One Planet Summit in Paris

The French president Emmanuel Macron, along with the president of the World Bank Group, Jim Yong Kim, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, called together international leaders to address climate change.

Heads of government and corporations were asked to commit to action on climate adaptation, mitigation and mobilisation.

12 commitments have been confirmed from the summit.

The Pacific will benefit from a number of these, including $US650 million from the Gates Foundation to help small-holder farmers adapt to climate change.

Pacific leaders in Paris for climate summit

Two years after the Paris agreement France's president has called together the world's financial and political leaders to come up with action to meet its goals.

Pacific leaders have long called for more financial commitment and innovation to avoid catastrophe.

Emmanuel Macron's main focus for the One Planet Summit is to determine how the financial sector can better support climate action.

The changes necessary will not pay for themselves and innovation is needed.

Car rams into police van in Paris

The driver died in the incident. Police found a Kalashnikov rifle, handguns and gas bottles in the car.

"Security forces have been targeted in France once again," Interior Minister Gérard Collomb said, calling it an "attempted attack".

No law enforcement officers or civilian bystanders were hurt.

France is under a state of emergency after being hit by a wave of deadly terrorist attacks in recent years.

Arnold Schwarzenegger photobombs tourists in Paris

The Terminator star couldn't resist diving in front of the Thai visitors as they were posing for a group shot in front of the Eiffel Tower.

On a bike, in dark glasses, shorts and a camouflage jacket, the actor was understandably unrecognisable to them.

He later thanked them on Instagram for "letting me crash your photo!"

Rugby stars charged in Paris over cocaine

The pair were arrested outside a nightclub near the Champs Elysees on Saturday and spent a night in jail.

Williams, 35, will appear in court at a later date having accepted a charge of buying cocaine, judicial sources say.

O'Connor, 26, faces a charge of possession. They were found with 2.4 grams of the drug.

Police, quoted by AFP, alleged Williams was seen in a car with two suspected drug dealers. O'Connor was allegedly spotted outside the car acting as a lookout.

Williams plays for the French team Racing 92 and O'Connor is at Toulon.