PARIS, Feb 2: Former French prime minister Lionel Jospin has broken his silence to say that France should resolve not to go to war against Iraq, by breaking even if the UN Security Council does give a green light for an allied attack against President Saddam Hussein.

Mr Jospin, who has not spoken publicly since his defeat last April during the first round of the French presidential elections, said in Saturday’s issue of Le Monde he was firmly opposed to any French participation in an attack on Iraq, especially at a time when growing pressure is being placed on President Chirac to tone down French opposition to a war.

France should not, in Mr Jospin’s words, “allow herself to be transformed into a backup reserve of troops, especially when the cause is, moreover, uncertain.”

“And,” he adds, “even if a war is declared, France should not in any way take part.” It is a position that has been already expressed by Socialist Party officials, notably in the French parliament, but is now lent moral strength by Mr Jospin’s support for the position.

Mr Jospin’s intervention comes just as some of Mr Chirac’s principal advisers and cabinet officials have begun asking him to reconsider his adamant opposition to a war, especially if a US-authored second resolution is approved by the UN Security Council.