The French government has decided against building an airport in western France, scrapping a project which has provoked years of occasionally violent protests.

France's prime minister Edouard Philippe said protesters occupying the proposed site at Notre-Dames-des-Landes, outside Nantes, must now leave.

He said that the decision to abandon construction of the new facility was down to the volatile situation in the area and divisions among the local population.

Mr Philippe said anarchists opposed to the new airport must leave, and vowed to "put an end to this lawless zone".

He ordered protesters living in a makeshift settlement to clear the roads they have been blocking, or face police action.

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