Authorities in Mali have given the French ambassador 72 hours to leave the country after being "hostile and outrageous" about the transitional government, Reuters reported.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Friday that Mali's junta was "out of control" amid escalating tensions between the West African state and its European partners following two coups.

French Defence Minister Florence Parly said on Saturday French troops would not stay in Mali if the price was too high.

"The French ambassador to Bamako was summoned and notified of a decision by the government inviting him to leave the national territory within 72 hours following hostile and outrageous comments by the French foreign affairs minister recently," the government statement said.

There has been no comment from Paris yet.

France has deployed troops to Mali since 2013, in an attempt to push back Islamist militants advancing on the capital. Since then, the Islamists have regrouped and are leading an increasingly bloody insurgency in the Sahel region.

Relations between Mali and its former colonizer deteriorated this month when the junta reneged on an agreement to organize elections in February.