Malta will respond to any call for assistance from France in line with the Constitution if and when this was specifically requested, the government said this evening.

Earlier today, France invoked a never-before-used European Union "mutual-defence clause" to demand that its partners provide support for its operations against Islamic State in Syria, Iraq and other locations.

French defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said all 27 of France's EU partners responded positively.

The government said this evening that a series of bilateral meetings between member states should now be held.

“If and when Malta is specifically requested to assist, it would respond to the demand in line with its Constitution as provided by the treaties.”

The government said it was advised by the Attorney General that the fact that a state invoked a clause to seek support did not necessarily mean that actions which breached the clauses of neutrality, protected by the Constitution, had to be taken.

French authorities are seeking a second fugitive directly involved in Friday's Paris terror attacks which killed 129 people.

Three officials said an analysis of the series of attacks on November 13 indicated that one person directly involved was unaccounted for. The person has not been identified.

Seven attackers died that night - three around the national stadium, three inside the Bataclan concert venue, and one at a restaurant nearby.

A team of gunmen also opened fire at a series of nightspots in one of Paris' trendiest neighbourhoods.

French and Belgian authorities have already issued a warrant for Salah Abdeslam, whose brother Brahim was among the attackers.

A third brother, Mohamed Abdeslam, earlier made a TV appeal for Salah Abdeslam to turn himself in.