"In the face of many initiatives at the United Nations Security Council to deploy a multinational force in the region while a ceasefire has not been decided, we think France has an all different approach," he told journalists.

"A multinational force cannot have any real efficiency, while the ceasefire doesn't exist. It is not via force, nor escalation of violence that we can get a result, on the contrary nowhere, especially in this region: the example of Iraq has shown it well," he said.

He underlined that a multinational force cannot go before a political agreement and can only follow it.

He confirmed that France would hand over next week a plan of resolution to the UN Security Council, which will concretize the French concept as a solution to the crisis.

The minister also reiterated the difference between France and the United States over the way to obtain the disarmament of the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah, which has captured two Israeli soldiers and triggered Israel's offensive 18 days ago.

The conflicts between Israel and the Hezbollah have left 451 dead, mostly civilian people, 2,000 injured and 800,000 displaced.

"The difference between the Americans and us does not relate too bjective, or the dismantling of the militias and especially the Hezbollah within the UN resolution 1559, but on the way to obtain the dismantling of the Hezbollah," he noted, adding that Washington and Paris were not co-author.

U.S. President George W. Bush called Friday at a joint news conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair to deploy quickly an international force in South Lebanon, but refused to call for an immediate ceasefire.