A man has been charged with the murder of his wife, who had been missing for two and a half months in western France, his lawyer confirmed on Friday, following a confession that led investigators to her body.

Karine Esquivillon, 54, a mother-of-five, disappeared without trace from her home in the Pays de la Loire region of western France on March 27. 

Her mobile phone, missing a SIM card but including a photo of one of her daughters, was discovered by the local mayor two weeks later in a ditch near a car park.

While police appealed for witnesses to come forward, Esquivillon's husband Michel Pialle, 50, said she had "voluntarily" left their home, although some family members cast doubt on the assertion claim.

At the end of May, Pialle told AFP his "anxiety was growing stronger with each passing day".

He was charged on Friday with murdering his spouse, his lawyer Antoine Ory confirmed. 

"He gave his version, explaining that it was an accident," Ory told journalists at the court in La Roche-sur-Yon. 

Pialle was "psychologically exhausted", Ory said.

"He is relieved to have given his version of the facts". 

Pialle was first taken into police custody on Wednesday, when police searched the family home and the couple's two vehicles.

He eventually told investigators he had killed his wife accidentally while handling a gun, a source close to the investigation said, confirming reports made by daily newspaper Le Parisien.  

Pialle "indicated to investigators where to find her body", public prosecutor Emmanuelle Lepissier told AFP in a text message.

Her body was found in a forested area several kilometres (miles) from the couple's home, according to Le Parisien.