Two journalists with Radio France Internationale (RFI) were found dead after being kidnapped by armed men in Mali's troubled northeast, government and security sources said.
Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon were on their way to interview a spokesman for the Tuareg separatist group the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) in the rebel stronghold of Kidal yesterday when they were abducted outside his home.
French President Francois Hollande called a meeting of his ministers for today to establish "jointly with Malian authorities and UN forces, the conditions of the killings".
He expressed "his indignation over this despicable act", said a statement from his office.
Hollande and Malian leader Ibrahim Boubacar Keita spoke over the telephone, the French president's office said, reaffirming their determination "to relentlessly pursue the fight against terrorist groups that are present in northern Mali".
RFI said MNLA spokesman Ambery Ag Rhissa was waiting to be interviewed by Verlon and Dupont at 1:00pm (1830 IST) when he heard suspicious noises outside his home.
"He half opened his door and saw the kidnappers put the journalists into a beige 4X4," RFI said.
Men in turbans and speaking the Tuareg language of Tamashek "ordered Mr Ag Rhissa to get back inside and forced the journalists' driver to lie down", RFI said, adding that Ag Rhisaa had heard Verlon and Dupont protest.
"This is the last time that the journalists were seen," RFI said.
Dupont, 51, was an African affairs specialist who had spent 27 years covering the continent since joining RFI in 1986, including stints in Ethiopia, Sudan and 10 years in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
"She always wanted to dig, dig deeper and she shared this passion with us and always encouraged us to go further," her colleague Nicolas Champeaux said.
RFI said Verlon, 58, who had been at the station since 1982, was a seasoned journalist who was "used to difficult terrain across the world".
A spokesman for European foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said there was "great sadness" on hearing news of the incident.
The spokesman added the deaths were a "heinous crime" which must not go "unpunished".
Moussa Ag Assarid, the MNLA's spokesman in Europe, told the French i-Tele news channel the journalists had been abducted by "unknown elements".
Several sources cited by RFI said the kidnappers fled with the reporters towards Tin Essako, a village 115 kilometres to the east.
