France's foreign minister called on the UN Security Council to strengthen its inspection regime in Iraq and said military action against Baghdad should be only a final resort.
"Given the choice between military intervention and an inspections regime that is inadequate because of a failure to co-operate on Iraq's part, we must choose the decisive reinforcement of the means of inspections," Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said.
"This is today what France is proposing," he told the 15-nation council after hearing US Secretary of State Colin Powell present evidence that Mr Powell said proved the Iraqi military had conspired to conceal banned weapons from inspectors.
"Let us double, let us triple the number of inspectors. Let us open more regional offices. Let us go further than this," Mr de Villepin said. "Could we not for example set up a specialised body to keep under surveillance the sites and areas that have already been inspected?"