Former prime minister Francois Fillon's stunning upset in France's rightwing primary set up a run-off duel with another ex-premier, Alain Juppe, that is widely expected to decide the country's next leader.

The surprise winner of the first round of France's rightwing presidential primary, conservative ex-premier Francois Fillon, was the runaway favorite Monday to win the contest expected to decide France's next leader.

Political outsider Emmanuel Macron joined the increasingly unpredictable race for France's presidency on Wednesday, vowing to take on "the same men and the same ideas" that dominate national politics.

As Francois Hollande kept France guessing over whether he will seek re-election as president, the resurgent opposition was set to return to the debate stage on Thursday.

France said Wednesday it had extended the mission of its aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, in the eastern Mediterranean until mid-December to help the offensive against the Islamic State group in the Iraqi city of Mosul.

French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday urged the U.S.-led coalition backing the offensive against Islamic State jihadists in Mosul to prepare for the aftermath of the city's fall, including returning fighters. 

EU lawmakers on Tuesday lifted the parliamentary immunity of former French far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, a move sought by French prosecutors who want to try him for allegedly inciting race hate.

Visiting French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on Monday defended Turkey's post-coup state of emergency but rankled his hosts when he appeared to criticize how it was being implemented.

France will host an international meeting Thursday on the future of Mosul, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said on the second day of a major offensive to retake Iraq's second city from the Islamic State group.

A man in his sixties opened fire on shoppers outside a supermarket near Paris on Monday, severely injuring two people before fleeing the scene, police sources said.