In a letter to the French president, the groups urged him to use a planned trip to India next month to visit the northwestern Alang shipyard, to "see for himself the extremely precarious work conditions of the Indian workers".

Greenpeace, the Paris-based International Federation of Human Rights and two anti-asbestos groups, who co-signed the letter, argue that France is putting Indian workers at risk of asbestos poisoning by sending the decommissioned ship, the Clemenceau, to the country for scrapping.

France's decision, they wrote, was "in total contradiction with the vision that you (Chirac) regularly advance, of a fairer kind of globalisation, of international solidarity, workers' rights and the protection of the environment."

A delegation representing the six groups was received at the Elysee Palace on Friday to put their case to the French presidency.

Before the meeting, Greenpeace France member Yves Jadot told AFP: "We are addressing the president of the republic as the moral authority of France".

"The only possible destination for the Clemenceau is (the French port of) Toulon, where its asbestos decontamination can be completed.

"We are going to ask the president if asbestos in India is less dangerous than in France."

A court-appointed Indian watchdog on Friday questioned French government officials, Greenpeace and the Ban Asbestos Network over the ship, in order to decide whether to allow it into India's territorial waters.

The Supreme Court this week ordered the Clemenceau -- the former pride of the French navy -- to stay out of India's exclusive economic zone until a final decision has been reached.

The ship, which was prevented from crossing the Suez canal for a week, is now expected to be allowed through by Egypt, according to the French defence ministry.

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