It was Mr. Karzai’s second d visit to Europe since the Bonn Conference had appointed him as interim Head of the Government, as he had rushed to Rome to meet for King Mohammad Zaher Shah.

Arrived late Tuesday nigh, Mr. Karzai, on Thursday morning, had visited the 1000 years of Afghan and Asian arts at the Guimet Museum in Paris, where hundreds of artefacts and valuable objects are on display, some of them "saved" from the Taleban’s destruction.

The Director of the museum assured that as soon as peace and stability is returned to Afghanistan, all the objects that belong to the Kabol museum would be returned to the Afghans.

During all his extensive meetings with French officials, starting from President Jacques Chirac down to the Foreign Affairs Minister Huber Vedrine and including Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, Speakers of the National Assembly and Senate as well as heads of French banking and industries, Mr. Karzai indefatigably pleaded for the increase in the number of Afghan international forces, the extension of the foreign soldiers to other major Afghan cities and the extension of the force’s mandate, due to end in June.

Though Paris agreed to keep the 520 French soldiers that serves in Kabol under British commandment until the end of the mandate fixed by the United Nations for peace keeping mission, but Mr. Chirac openly told Mr. Karzai that he is "not convinced" to sent foreign troops, including French, to other parts of Afghanistan, as this would be seen and interpreted as an interference in Afghanistan’s interior affairs.

Mr. Latif Pedram, a respected Afghan poet, writer, intellectual and scholar who live in Paris said the French concerns are the result of the growing instability in Afghanistan.

"Though the French say they don’t want to meddle in Afghan internal affairs, but I think both they and other European nations are worried of the continuation of sporadic fighting in Afghanistan in the one hand and the stated opposition of some Islamic groups to the presence of western forces, on the other, a warning that might endanger the lives of their soldiers", Mr. Pedram told Iran Press Service in a telephone interview.

But he expressed satisfaction at the fact that the French had undertaken a 27,5 millions Euros for the partly reorganisation and modernisation of Afghanistan’s national education, national police and national army as well as reconstruction and rehabilitation of Afghanistan’s devastated agriculture.

In a joint press conference with the French President, Mr. Karzai pointed out that without the active support and participation of the Americans. But also the French, British and Germans, Afghanistan would have difficulties liberating itself from the oppression of the Taleban and the terrorists.

Mr. Karzai said it is the sincere desire of all Afghans, from children to old men, to see not only foreign forces remain in Afghanistan, but also that they are present everywhere. "They see it as a security and guarantee that the world would not forget the Afghan people once again", he said.

For his part, Mr. Chirac said that there was "no differences" between the European Union and the United States over the necessity to fight terrorism, dashing the question that was about Europe-US row over President George W. Bush’s characterisation of Iran, Iraq and North Korea as "evil states".

Mr. Karzai also briefed his French interlocutors on the talks he had in New Delhi and Tehran before coming to Paris with Indian and Iranian officials.

Afghanistan’s Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Abdollah Abdollah, who accompanied Mr. Karzai, described the visit extremely successful and praised French pledge to help reconstruction of Afghanistan

"The international community and the Afghan people approve the present position of Afghanistan consisting of having good, neighbourly relations with all the countries in the region as well as with American, Western and other nations", Dr. Abdollah said.

Commenting Mr. Karzai’s visit, the influential "Le Monde" said in an editorial that though Mr. Karzai, with his extensive visits outside, had been able to present a new face for his war-devastated nation, "but his hands are tied".

"Politically, there are conflicts among the members of his UN-brokered coalition government; he has no army, no law enforcement forces to maintain stability, a precondition for investments and finally, Afghanistan is among the world’s poorest countries", the paper noted.

Having come to Paris from Tehran and New Delhi, Mr. Karzai is to leave Saturday morning for Berlin. ENDS KARZAI FRENCH VISIT 1302