The future of a controversial French dam project where a young protester was killed by what appears to be a police grenade hung in the balance Wednesday as authorities mulled suspending work on site.

Remi Fraisse, 21, was killed in the early hours of Sunday as people protesting against the project in the southwestern Tarn region clashed violently with security forces. It was the first such death in mainland France in nearly three decades.

Air France on Wednesday said its third quarter results had taken a bashing due to a record pilots' strike, with turnover falling by 416 million euros ($530 million).

The Air France-KLM group, Europe's second-biggest airline, was already in difficulty when the pilots went on strike between September 15 and 28 in protest at the group's plans to expand its low-cost subsidiary Transavia France.

A probe into the cause of a French eco-protester's death in violent clashes with security forces veered towards riot police Tuesday, in a new development to a case that has shocked the country.

Remi Fraisse, 21, was killed in the early hours of Sunday as people protesting against a controversial dam project in the southwestern Tarn region fought with security forces. It was the first such death in mainland France in nearly three decades.

French President Francois Hollande held talks with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan Monday in a fresh push to end the festering conflict over the disputed region of Nagorny Karabakh.

The summit in Paris enabled "the resumption of a direct dialogue" between the presidents of the two countries, though no accord was reached, the French presidency said in a statement after the talks ended.

A protester who died during a clash at the site of a contested French dam project was wounded by "an explosion", a prosecutor said Monday, as questions grew over whether police were responsible.

Remi Fraisse, 21, died early Sunday during fighting between police and protesters that also left seven security forces injured, hours after some 2,000 people gathered peacefully against the controversial Sivens dam project in the southwestern region of Tarn.

French President Francois Hollande led tributes to Total's former chief executive at a memorial service on Monday, a week after his private jet crashed at a Moscow airport.

Top figures from the world of finance and politics, including IMF managing director Christine Lagarde and the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, also gathered at Paris's Saint-Sulpice church to remember Christophe de Margerie.

French President Francois Hollande held talks with leaders from Armenia and Azerbaijan Monday as Europe makes a fresh push to end the festering conflict over the disputed region of Nagorny Karabakh.

The summit in Paris follows a visit by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier to both countries last week after a sharp escalation in violence over the region in recent months as war rages in Ukraine.

Two Azerbaijani citizens went on trial Monday for murder and espionage in the separatist Armenian-backed Nagorny Karabakh region, as the latest international efforts to resolve the festering conflict kicked off in Paris.

Shahbaz Guliyev and Dilhan Askerov are accused of infiltrating the disputed territory in late June as part of an Azerbaijani reconnaissance group and killing a 17-year-old Karabakh civilian and a soldier, the separatist judicial authority said in a statement.

A wave of panic sparked by evil clowns stalking French towns has spread to the south of France where police on Saturday night arrested 14 teenagers dressed as the pranksters, carrying pistols, knives and baseball bats.

A police source said the group of teens were arrested in the parking lot of a high school in the port town of Agde, as several other complaints poured in over "armed clowns" in the region over the weekend.

French President Francois Hollande hosts leaders from Armenia and Azerbaijan Monday as Europe makes a fresh push to end the festering conflict over Nagorny Karabakh.

Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited both countries last week after a sharp escalation in violence over the disputed region in recent months as war raged in Ukraine.