BANGKOK (AFP) - India will become a major polluter unless it can generate electricity using nuclear power, French President Jacques Chirac said Saturday.

"If we don't help India produce electricity using nuclear power, we would let develop in India a chimney for greenhouse gases," he said in Bangkok, a day before leaving for a two-day visit to New Delhi.

France and India are expected to sign a declaration of intent on the development of nuclear energy for civilian use during Chirac's visit.

"The minimum we must do is to let India respond to its energy needs without becoming a major polluting nation," Chirac said.

"I wish that we could, within the non-proliferation framework and existing agreements, help India respond this need," he said.

Ahead of Chirac's visit, French Ambassador Dominique Girard said India would need to place more of its nuclear facilities under international supervision to win access to crucial civilian technology.

India, which came out of the nuclear closet in 1998, is currently negotiating a landmark deal with Washington that would give New Delhi access to previously forbidden nuclear technology.

Washington agreed last July to share the technology with New Delhi provided India separated its military and civilian nuclear facilities and allowed international inspections.

U.S. Pesident George W. Bush, who will be traveling to New Delhi in March, has defended the U.S.-India agreement as "good policy".

Chirac told reporters there was no rivalry with the United States when it came to helping India develop.