The head of France's central bank on Friday hit out at Moody's, saying the agency had made a "factual mistake" when it took away the country's cherished AAA credit rating.

In making its decision, which followed a similar move by Standard & Poor's earlier in the year, Moody's cited structural problems with the economy that made it harder to compete globally and warned more cuts could be on the cards.

Two French prosecutors have landed themselves in hot water after being caught tweeting during a trial, judicial sources revealed Wednesday.

The pair are being investigated over a Twitter exchange which suggests they were frustrated with the pace of proceedings in an attempted murder case in a court in the Landes area of southwestern France.

France on Wednesday warned the Palestinians against taking Israel to the International Criminal Court should they win upgraded U.N. status this week, saying it would it damage peace efforts.

Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius acknowledged it would be within the Palestinians' rights to join the ICC and pursue Israel should they win recognition as a non-member state at the United Nations.

The ambassadors of major powers stressed to Prime Minister Najib Miqati the importance of swiftly resolving the political crisis in Lebanon, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Wednesday.

According to the newspaper, the ambassadors reiterated to Miqati before his visit to France the importance of “pressing forward the cabinet change.”

The United States publicly disagreed with France, one of its closest allies, on Tuesday, after Paris said it would back a Palestinian bid for enhanced status at the United Nations.

"We obviously disagree with our oldest ally on this issue. They know that we disagree with them," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. "But it's their sovereign decision to make, how to proceed."

The Israeli foreign ministry said on Tuesday that a French decision to back a Palestinian bid for enhanced United Nations status at the General Assembly "comes as no surprise."

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told parliament that Paris would say "yes" in Thursday's vote on a call for "non-member observer state" status for the Palestinians, recalling France's "consistent position" on the issue.

France has allocated 1.2 million euros ($1.5 million) in emergency aid to the newly formed opposition Syrian National Coalition, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Monday.

"The humanitarian situation in Syria is deteriorating. It is imperative that the international community act," Fabius said in a statement.

France has allocated 1.2 million euros ($1.5 million) in emergency aid to the newly formed opposition Syrian National Coalition, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Monday.

"The humanitarian situation in Syria is deteriorating. It is imperative that the international community act," Fabius said in a statement.

Mali's Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra arrived in Paris on Monday for talks with senior officials on plans for a military intervention to dislodge Islamists in control of the vast north.

Diarra's office said he would meet Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Tuesday to discuss "French support for reclaiming regions illegally occupied by terrorists".

Ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy was set Monday to wade into a bitter leadership battle that is threatening the future of France's main right-wing opposition party, the UMP.

The political heir of the party founded by Charles de Gaulle after World War II was on the verge of collapse after accusations of vote-rigging tarnished a leadership vote.