A French soldier died and another was injured in a road accident in Mali, where they were both part of a military offensive that chased Islamists out of the north of the country.

Marc Martin-Vallet, 28, was killed on Tuesday when the transport vehicle he was travelling in fell into a ditch, according to the defence ministry.

Martin-Vallet, who had been in the west African country for two months, is the seventh French soldier to die since the beginning of the French-led offensive in Mali on January 11.

His is the first accidental death.

The crisis in Mali began in March last year when a military mutiny toppled democratically elected president Amadou Toumani Toure.

The ensuing confusion precipitated the fall of northern Mali to Islamist militants linked to Al-Qaeda, but the military intervention launched by French and African troops chased the rebels from the region's main cities.

Around 3,200 French soldiers are still in the country, where the first round of a presidential election successfully took place on Sunday.

A UN peacekeeping force was deployed to the country earlier this month. The deployment allows France to start withdrawing most of its troops.