PARIS, Dec 12: The French government says that it’s received, like many other European countries, a “shopping list” issued by the Pentagon and requesting the use of various military equipment, facilities and services — with a view to an upcoming attack on Iraq — but that it is not planning to reply to the request, at least for the moment.

The French assistance sought by the US apparently includes France’s crack reconnaissance squadron of Mirage-IVs, that was last used in 1998 to help photograph sites in Iraq.

All of this comes as a poll published in Wednesday’s issue of Paris Match revealed that 55pc of the French say they’re opposed to French participation in an attack on Iraq, with a majority of those polled saying that they want France to “remain neutral”.