There, a putsch led by Bob Denard, a veteran mercenary, was put down by French troops.
In the south west of Rwanda the French troops set up a secure zone, code-named Turquoise.
French troops heading a European Union peacekeeping mission were poised to bolster the president if required.
When French troops seized Kidal's airport a month ago, the MNLA took control of the town itself.
She is also said to have single-handedly rounded-up a dozen French troops while armed with only a pitchfork.
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Earlier this year French troops pushed Islamists out of much of northern Mali but sporadic fighting has continued.
Addressing French troops at Timbuktu's airport afterwards, President Hollande warned them that that the mission was still dangerous.
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It saw a force of British and French troops rout the Russian army, which lost about 6, 000 men.
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Washington is backing its NATO ally by sharing intelligence, flying French troops to neighboring countries and refueling French jets.
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Mr Le Drian also insisted that the 4, 000 French troops currently deployed would be the maximum number in Mali.
French troops found weapons "by the tonne, " he said, including AK47s, grenade launchers and pick-ups hidden in natural caves.
During the campaign, Hollande also raised questions about Sarkozy's decision in 2009 to place French troops under NATO command.
The commission celebrates Piacenza's joining the Papal States after French troops were driven out of Northern Italy in 1512.
French troops are besieged by thugs, and may have killed scores of them.
French troops backed by helicopters and planes have helped restore government control of northern Mali, killing hundreds of suspected militants.
In 1954 some 10, 000 French troops surrendered at Dien Bien Phu to a Vietminh army under General Vo Nguyen Giap.
French troops have been pushing northwards and are now in the town of Niono, 50km (30 miles) south of Diabaly.
President Francois Hollande insisted on Tuesday he had no desire for French troops to remain in Mali in the long term.
The UK defence ministry said on Friday it was deploying its Sentinel R1 spy plane to support French troops in Mali.
When French troops moved into Kidal, a distant and largely Tuareg town this week, they took the town without Malian troops.
Hundreds of French troops have been deployed in Mali, both in the conflict zone near Konna and in the capital, Bamako.
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French troops guarding the Central African Republic capital Bangui's international airport have accidentally killed two Indian citizens, the French defence ministry said.
Chad, which is not part of the regional body Ecowas, is also sending 2, 000 soldiers to work in co-ordination with French troops.
West African forces are expected to battle the militants alongside French troops.
France hopes the latest European financing for African troops will allow French troops to take a more supporting role in the campaign.
Islamist rebels in Mali acknowledged Sunday that they had suffered heavy losses in a battle against the country's military and French troops.
French troops, he said, are not in Mali to venture into politics.
French troops captured Gilles Le Guen, who now goes by the name Abdel Jelil, on Sunday night north of Timbuktu, the army said.
French troops were deployed in Mali on Friday after its army lost control of a strategically-important town to Islamists who were advancing south.
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French troops are looking to hand over the duty to a West African coalition of troops, who aren't as well armed as AQIM.
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