Hundreds of migrants holed up in northern France made another desperate attempt to reach England in the early hours of Thursday, as Britain's prime minister came under fire for controversial comments on the crisis.

France has bolstered its police presence in the northern port city of Calais and migrants made fewer attempts to enter the Eurotunnel than in previous nights.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has urged his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif to exert efforts to end Lebanon's presidential crisis, informed sources said.

The Iranian sources told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat published on Thursday that Fabius told Zarif about the importance of contacting Lebanese parties that are allied with Iran to urge them to find a solution to the deadlock.

A one-time advisor to former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was charged Wednesday with abusing his position to profit from state funds, as part of an inquiry into alleged fraud in awarding contracts to opinion polling companies.

Patrick Buisson also faces charges of misuse of public money and embezzlement during Sarkozy's 2007-2012 term, according to a judicial source, relating to opinion polls ordered by the presidency during the period.

Thousands of migrants are trying to cross the Channel from France in search of a better life in Britain -- but what makes them risk their lives traveling from one wealthy European country to another?

The answer is partly down to the allure of living in a country where many of them speak the language, English, and where they might have family or cultural connections, experts say.

France sought to revive its relations with Iran on Wednesday, inviting President Hassan Rouhani to visit Paris in November, in a gesture that swiftly follows this month's historic nuclear deal.

The offer came in a letter delivered by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, visiting Tehran on a short trip that has attracted a mixture of optimism and criticism in the capital.

One man died Wednesday as migrants made some 1,500 attempts to enter the Eurotunnel terminal in a desperate bid to get to England, a situation the British prime minister warned was "very concerning."

Authorities in London were planning emergency talks over the migrant crisis, which has now claimed nine lives since June and sparked major travel disruption in a peak European holiday season.

Officials close to Prime Minister Tammam Salam were not optimistic on Wednesday on a possible solution to Lebanon's political crisis as top diplomats rushed to his support to stop a possible resignation decision.

The officials, who were not identified, told al-Joumhouria daily that “all efforts, which had been exerted until Tuesday, hit a dead-end as a result of inflexible stances that caused a failure in coming up with solutions” to controversial issues.

Jean-Marie Le Pen, the veteran ex-leader of France's National Front (FN), on Tuesday won a legal victory in a battle over his expulsion from the far-right party amid a festering feud with his daughter.

Daughter Marine, now leading the party her father founded, launched a postal ballot earlier this month on whether to change the FN's statutes and scrap Jean-Marie's position as honorary president.

A trip to Tehran by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius faced a threat of being overshadowed Tuesday by a tainted blood scandal from the 1980s which killed hundreds of Iranians.

Fabius is due in Tehran on Wednesday and Iran's conservative media carried attacks about the imported blood case which occurred when he was France's prime minister.

French President Francois Hollande has telephoned Prime Minister Tammam Salam and expressed to him France's support for Lebanon and its state institutions, state-run National News Agency said Monday.

The talks tackled the current cabinet crisis in Lebanon and its repercussions on the country, NNA said.