France will maintain its deployment of 10,000 troops that have been patrolling across the country in the wake of January's jihadist attacks at least "until the beginning of the summer."

"The threat of terrorist attack against our country remains high," the office of President Francois Hollande said in a statement after a special meeting of top ministers.

French police were on Wednesday probing whether a man seen in a video released by the Islamic State group purporting to show the execution of an Arab Israeli was close to French jihadist gunman Mohamed Merah.

In the video, a youth identifying himself as 19-year-old Mohammed Said Ismail Musallam is shown kneeling in front of a boy who appears to be no more than 12-years-old. A man stands at his side.

France will maintain its deployment of 10,000 troops that have been patrolling across the country in the wake of January's jihadist attacks, the presidency said on Wednesday. 

"The threat of terrorist attack against our country remains high," the office of President Francois Hollande said in a statement after a special meeting of top ministers. 

A group of "battle-hardened" armed thieves attacked two secure vans carrying jewels at a French motorway toll in the dead of night, making off with a haul worth some nine million euros ($11 million), police said Wednesday.

The heist took place around midnight on a motorway in the Yonne district some 200 kilometers (125 miles) southeast of Paris, and police, backed by air support, are searching within a large perimeter around the area.

France and Japan will discuss possible cooperation in tackling jihadist groups in Africa during a ministerial visit this week, focusing on securing borders in the troubled Sahel region, a diplomatic source said on Tuesday. 

"The idea is that we can perhaps work on a joint initiative around the borders of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso as part of the fight against cross-border threats, notably the terrorist threat," the French source said on condition of anonymity. 

Israelis awaiting their second general election in two years may be wearied by aggressive voting campaigns, but candidates in next week's snap ballot have found a brand new target demographic.

More than 10,000 French Jews have moved to Israel since the 2013 election, and polls on March 17 will be the first where parliamentary hopefuls have directly canvassed support among French voters.

The bodies of the 10 victims of a twin helicopter crash in Argentina, including three of France's best-known athletes, were recovered Tuesday and taken to a morgue after a reality TV shoot went horribly wrong.

Champion sailor Florence Arthaud, Olympic gold medalist swimmer Camille Muffat and Olympic boxer Alexis Vastine were among the victims killed when two helicopters filming the survival series "Dropped" smashed into each other in the rugged mountains of La Rioja province, local officials said.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Monday condemned the weekend attacks in Mali as an attempt to wreck the country's prospects of sealing a newly signed peace deal.

"These attacks are attacks on peace... At a time when we are just meters from peace, hostile forces are trying to intervene to wreck this perspective," he told a news conference in the Moroccan capital.

The U.N. Security Council is to meet on March 27 to oppose the growing persecution of Christians in the Middle East, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Monday.

"We are on the side of the persecuted minorities," Fabius, whose country currently presides over the Security Council, told a press conference in the Moroccan capital.

Four people have been detained over their connections to one of the jihadists who carried out the Paris attacks in January, a judicial source said on Monday.

The four are said to be friends with Amedy Coulibaly, who killed four people at a Jewish supermarket and a policewoman during the January 7-9 attacks.