France has called for a high-level EU meeting next week to discuss what the European Commission is offering on agriculture to secure a global trade deal.
France is the staunchest defender of the Europe Union's generous subsidies to farmers and its high tariffs on agriculture imports from outside the bloc.
But the European Commission is also under pressure from the United States and developing countries to open further its agricultural markets when the 148 member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) meet in December.
French President Jacques Chirac wrote this week to European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso to complain about the direction of world trade talks, a source in Mr Chirac's office said on Thursday.
A French diplomatic source said today French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy telephoned British counterpart Jack Straw to ask for a meeting on Tuesday in Luxembourg. Britain currently holds the EU presidency.
"(EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson) went much further than we wanted. The ministers want to exercise their political control, to tell them off a bit and bring them to order," the source said.
As well as Mr Chirac's letter to Mr Barroso, French Trade Minister Christine Lagarde this week accused Mr Mandelson of overstepping his mandate with the EU's latest offer on agriculture.
Mr Mandelson, his US counterpart and trade ministers from other leading trading countries are due to resume talks in Geneva on Wednesday and Thursday in their search for a blueprint for the WTO meeting in December.
That meeting in Hong Kong is seen as a last chance to pull off a deal to free up world trade deal under the current WTO round of talks.