French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou on Tuesday told lawmakers that France was drowning in debt, but pledged to listen to ideas to renegotiate a landmark 2023 pension reform in a bid to win support from the left to pass the 2025 budget.

France's new prime minister Francois Bayrou is set to give his first policy speech to a divided parliament on Tuesday, hoping to avoid a no-confidence vote that could prolong the country's rumbling political crisis.

France's prime minister Francois Bayrou on Tuesday warned parliament about his country's spiralling debt and said he was ready to reopen talks on pension reform, hoping to avoid a no-confidence vote that could prolong the country's rumbling political crisis.

By Nick Mulvenney MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Experience triumphed over potential as Gael Monfils edged Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 7-6(7) 6-3 6-7(6) 7-6(5) 6-4 in an all-French thriller in the first round of the Australian Open on Tuesday.

The pragmatic pro in Gael Monfils would like to have finished off his first-round win in straight sets against up-and-coming fellow Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard at the Australian Open. The entertainer's instinct in him got a lot of value out of clinching it in five.