"There is no way that we can get through 2008 without a law on GMOs," he said.

Brussels, which decides which GMO crops can be sold commercially in member states, has long required all EU members to draw up laws on the use of GMOs. But France only implemented minor regulations last year and has yet to pass a major law enabling it to deal with the emotive issue.

Many French remain highly sceptical of GMO crops amid fears they could have an impact on health or damage the country's biodiversity.

That view is widespread in Europe, in contrast to the United States where there is a far higher take-up of GMOs.

The future of GMOs in France has been a subject of heated debate during a series of government-led environment meetings expected to finish later this month.

Only one type of GMO crop, a variety of maize produced by US biotech giant Monsanto is commercially sold and cultivated in France.

French farmers have used it to sow a total of 22,000 hectares, or 1.5 percent of the nation's cultivated land.

Senior FNSEA member, Xavier Beulin, said a law on GMOs in France would not be about saying yes or no to GMO crops, but about defining the framework in which France managed the issue.

France would be able to set up an authority which could challenge Brussels -- if warranted -- on the use of a particular GMO crop sanctioned by the bloc, if there were scientific grounds for doing so.

A new law could also mean that some French farmers who have used GMO seeds and then seen their fields trampled by activists would be better protected, Beulin said. "Activists do get penalised today, but when there is a law, their attitudes may change," he said.

Some farmers have said failure to use GMO crops could do France more harm than good. The FNSEA said it promoted the freedom of choice.

New varieties of some GMO crops could benefit farmers and any inability to use them could mean that France faced greater difficulty competing in international markets, Beulin added.