France has suspended counterterrorism cooperation with Mali and ordered two staff members of the Malian embassy and consulate to leave, the French foreign ministry said on Friday.
The move came after Bamako's arrest of an alleged French intelligence agent in August.
A spokesperson for Mali's foreign ministry declined to comment.
The suspension further exacerbates tensions between Paris and the West African country, after Mali's government severed military ties with France.
Overthrow plot
The man was arrested in August, along with two Malian generals, and accused of participating in a plot to destabilise Mali.
The French foreign ministry declined to comment on whether the man was an intelligence agent. In August it said he was a member of the embassy in Bamako and Mali's accusations against him were unfounded.
Two staff members from the Malian embassy and consulate in Paris have been declared persona non grata, while Mali declared five French embassy staff members persona non grata, the French foreign ministry added.
France's relationship with countries of the Sahel region has deteriorated in recent years following the overthrow of its allies in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
