"French elements were deployed overnight in Kidal," French army spokesman Thierry Burkhard said in Paris.
A regional security source and a senior Tuareg figure in Kidal earlier reported that the French had landed at the airport.
A spokesman for the Islamic Movement of Azawad, which recently announced it had taken control of Kidal, said the French had landed there and "our leader is currently talking with them". The IMA split last week from the hardline Islamist group Ansar Dine, saying it wanted peace.
Kidal, 1500km northeast of the capital Bamako, has - along with the recently reclaimed Gao and Timbuktu - been under jihadist control and strict sharia law since a coup last March.
France swept to Mali's aid on January 11 as the Islamists advanced south towards Bamako.
Britain is sending more than 200 troops to train an African force combating the insurgency in Mali, with some operating inside the border, adding to the 90 already in the region.
Amid concern from MPs that Britain was being drawn into another foreign conflict, Downing Street insisted no British troops would have a "combat role".
British Prime Minister David Cameron was on his way to Algeria overnight to discuss fallout from the hostage crisis this month in which terrorists linked to al-Qa'ida stormed a gas plant and 37 foreign workers were killed.
At a donor conference in Addis Ababa, African leaders and international officials pledged $440 million for military operations and humanitarian aid.
Lack of cash and equipment has hampered the deployment of nearly 6000 West African troops under the African-led force for Mali (AFISMA) which is expected to take over from the French army. So far, just 2000 African troops have been sent to Mali or neighbouring Niger.
In the US, the Pentagon said planes would help fly African troops into the region. The US is already supplying air refuelling facilities for French aircraft.
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