France says Iraq close to partition

PARIS (Reuters) - French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said on Friday sectarian violence was close to tearing Iraq apart and the situation there was destabilizing the whole region.

France vocally opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and has called for Washington to announce a date by which it will withdraw its troops from the country.

"We agree on a sad observation. We are close to partition. There is today a situation of regional destabilization," Douste-Blazy said at a joint news conference with Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani.

"We think that the only solution, we have already said so, is to have a withdrawal by 2008 of the international forces which are in Iraq today and at the same time the restoration of the rule of law," he added.

France has welcomed a March 10 conference with Iraq's neighbors and major world powers aimed at stabilizing the country, and has said it will attend.

French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, who was foreign minister during the Iraq war, said last month the United States had failed in Iraq and the underlying cause of instability there was a feeling that the U.S. presence was illegitimate.