French President Francois Hollande on Sunday urged support for the Syrian opposition but said it should "clarify" its ties with extremists, in talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II.

"We want the opposition to be given the necessary support," Hollande said in Amman during a one-on-one meeting with the king at which journalists were present.

French President Francois Hollande arrived in Qatar on Saturday for talks on the Syrian civil war and on economic ties with the gas-rich Gulf state.

He landed in Qatar as a "Friends of Syria" meeting there earlier in the day decided to provide urgent military aid to Syria's rebels.

Over a thousand people demonstrated in several towns and cities in France on Saturday in a show of support for four hostages who have been held by al-Qaida's north African branch for 1,000 days.

Thierry Dol, Daniel Larribe, Pierre Legrand and Marc Feret -- mostly working for French public nuclear giant Areva and its subcontractor Satom -- were kidnapped in Niger by militants belonging to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) on September 16 in 2010.

French President Francois Hollande said Tuesday that Iranian president-elect Hassan Rowhani would be welcome at Syria peace talks "if he can be useful".

"Let's wait for the new president's statements," Hollande said at the end of a G8 summit, adding: "My position is that if he can be useful, yes, he would be welcome" at a peace conference mooted for later this year in Geneva.

France on Saturday acknowledged the election of moderate cleric Hassan Rowhani as Iran's new president, saying it was "ready to work" with him on issues ranging from Tehran's nuclear drive to the Syria conflict.

"The expectations of the international community with regard to Iran are significant, especially about its nuclear program and its involvement in Syria, " French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in a statement.

France said Friday that it was unlikely the U.N. Security Council would agree to impose a no-fly zone in Syria, as Washington dramatically toughened its line on President Bashar Assad's regime.

"It seems unlikely such a measure will obtain the agreement of the Security Council," French foreign ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot told reporters.

France condemned on Thursday the latest Syrian attack on the eastern town of Arsal, slamming “attempts to threaten civil peace in Lebanon as unacceptable.”

"France strongly condemns the raids on Arsal and we consider it a violation of Lebanese sovereignty,” said French foreign ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot.

The Syrian conflict is at a "turning point" with regime forces gaining ground, the French foreign ministry said Tuesday, adding that it was time to review whether to arm the opposition.

President Bashar Assad's regime has pledged to focus its attention on the northern city of Aleppo after winning a strategic victory by retaking Qusayr, a strategically important town on the border with Lebanon.

French police on Monday detained Stephane Richard, who heads telecom company Orange, in a case linked to IMF chief Christine Lagarde and a state payout to a disgraced tycoon, a source close to the investigation said.

Richard, who was chief of staff to Lagarde when the 2008 payout to controversial businessman Bernard Tapie was made, was taken in for questioning along with Jean-Francois Rocchi, who headed a financial institution created to hold the non-performing assets owned by the Credit Lyonnais bank, the source said.

Former French Socialist prime minister Pierre Mauroy has died at the age of 84, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Friday.

Mauroy, who was premier between 1981 and 1984 under France's first Socialist president Francois Mitterrand, had undergone surgery in April last year for a cancerous tumour in his lung.