France may send a few hundred more troops to Afghanistan to help Nato allies fight the Taliban and train the Afghan army, Prime Minister Francois Fillon said today.
France has some 1,500 troops based in Afghanistan serving as part of a 47,000-strong Nato force, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to announce later this week that the contingent will be reinforced.
"Our armed forces in Afghanistan may invest more in the command structures, particularly in Kabul, in training the Afghan army and in the units in the Afghan provinces," Mr Fillon said during a parliamentary debate on the Afghan operation.
The parliamentary debate was called by the opposition Socialists who have attacked Mr Sarkozy for planning to bolster the French force just a year after he indicated that he did not see any future for France's contingent in Afghanistan.
An opinion poll published yesterday said 68 per cent of French people disapproved of any strengthening of the French operation while just 15 per cent approved.
The Socialists said they intended to submit a motion of no confidence against the government "in the coming days" for refusing to hold a vote on the Afghan deployment in the lower house of parliament.
Mr Fillon said there was no need for a parliamentary vote because French soldiers were already in Afghanistan, adding that sending more troops would increase the chances of bringing peace to the country.