Emmanuel Macron has paid national tribute to 13 soldiers killed in Mali in a helicopter accident while fighting jihadist insurgents, sparking debate over the country’s mission in western Africa.

Hundreds lined Paris’ Alexandre III bridge as the funeral motorcade bearing 13 coffins drew into Les Invalides where 2,500 people attended the ceremony, broadcast live on a giant screen outside the military complex. Among those present were children from the soldiers' home bases.

The deaths were the biggest single-day loss for the French military in nearly four decades and prompted soul-searching over France’s 4,500-member Barkhane operation in Mali and four other countries in the Sahel.

Mr Macron, the French president, last week said that "all options are on the table" and issued an appeal for more European support ahead of this week's Nato summit outside London on Tuesday.

Britain already has helicopters and around 100 men on the ground while the US provides intelligence on jihadist movements across an area the size of Western Europe.