BANGKOK (AFP) -- Thailand's outgoing Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who stepped aside earlier this month after weeks of protests, will meet French President Jacques Chirac in Paris Tuesday, a report said Saturday.

Thaksin, who said he would not accept the post of prime minister when parliament convenes early May, will explain his position to the French president and try to reassure countries interested in investing in Thailand, the Bangkok Post reported citing an unnamed source.

The French embassy refused to confirm or deny the report.

There was also the "possibility" Thaksin would go to London to meet British Prime Minister Tony Blair during the same trip to Europe, the Bangkok Post said, citing the British embassy.

However, an embassy spokesman could not be contacted Saturday.

An official in Thaksin's ruling Thai Rak Thai party, which he heads, told AFP he could not confirm the reports.

Thaksin returned to Thailand early Thursday after a week-long trip to the United States and Britain but declined to say if he met any government leaders.

Chirac held a two-day state visit to Thailand in mid-February that was largely a pitch for French business interests in the region.

Thaksin was also expected to travel to Japan and China, according to party officials.

He announced on April 4 he would step down as prime minister despite his party's victory in the general elections, which were undermined by the main opposition parties.

Thailand fell into political turmoil after Thaksin's family sold its nearly 50 percent stake in Shin Corp, the telecom giant he founded, to Singapore's state-linked Temasek for 1.9 billion dollars in a tax-free deal.