Two-thirds of French oppose Iraq war - poll

Two-thirds of French people are opposed to military action against Iraq, according to a poll released yesterday that suggested public opposition to a war is hardening in France.

Sixty-six per cent of 1,002 adults interviewed for daily paper Le Parisien said they were against military intervention, compared to 58 per cent who were asked the same question last August.

Twenty-four per cent said they favoured a war, down from 32 per cent in August, while 10 per cent gave no response in the survey, conducted by telephone on January 7 by pollster CSA.

Just 15 per cent wanted France to t0ake part in any military campaign, even if it had the blessing of the United Nations.

President Jacques Chirac told French troops on Tuesday to prepare for "anything that may happen" but stressed that war should be a last resort and warned the United States against any unilateral action.

Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie rejected media speculation that Chirac had sought to prepare public opinion for an imminent war, insisting Paris's position was unchanged.

"Our soldiers are always ready, that's their role to be ready to defend the country, to defend our citizens," she told reporters after a cabinet meeting yesterday.

French officials have ruled out military participation in action against Iraq without the approval of the UN Security Council, of which it is a veto-wielding member.

However Paris has regularly affirmed it would fulfil any responsibilities that fell to it if the Security Council did approve a strike.

"France has always said that no option can be ruled out," government spokesman Jean-Francois Cope told LCI Television yesterday, adding the next key step was a declaration by UN inspectors due January 27 on the extent of arms held by Iraq.

"Nothing leads to the assumption that the UN arms inspections will be a failure, and that's why we continue to say that war is not inevitable," he added.