Another person has been injured and one more is missing after the avalanche in the area around Entraunes in the southern Alps near France's border with Italy, national police said on Twitter.
Georges Francois Leclerc, chief of the Alpes Maritimes region, said the avalanche had swept away people who were skiing off-piste near the Mercantour National Park.
A rescue operation was under wayFran.
'Beast from the East' sends Siberian cold blast across Europe
The avalanche is the deadliest to hit France this winter after an avalanche in the Pyrenees mountains on February 15 that killed three skiers.
A total of 16 people have died since France's ski season began in November, and 11 others have been injured.
The French Alps have experienced heavy snowfall since the start of the week, as a blast of icy weather from Siberia dubbed "the Beast from the East" engulfs Europe
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