Hollande told reporters in the Niger capital Niamey that the passenger list showed no French nationals, appearing to contradict his Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who said on Thursday there were four French victims.

"According to the documents sent by the airline there are no French victims because there was no French national on the plane," he said, describing the crash as a "tragedy of which we have to know the cause."

Fabius later appeared to backtrack after his initial comments, saying he was waiting for details.