France is all in favour of India's inclusion as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, President Jacques Chirac said on Tuesday at the United Nations.

"It is hard to imagine how one could exclude that country from the possibility of holding a permanent seat (at the Security Council) given its characteristics," Chirac told journalists during a press conference.

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"Some countries are natural candidates," Chirac said.

During his address to the UNGA Chirac called for a reform and expansion of the UN Security Council, saying that its membership should reflect the state of the world.

"It must be enlarged to include new permanent members, for it needs the presence of major countries," he said. "France is thinking, naturally of Germany and Japan, but also of some leading countries from Asia, Africa and Latin America," Chirac said.

The question of the expansion of the Security Council was also touched by Secretary General Kofi Annan as well as by some member states like South Africa.

Annan noted the composition of the Council has been on the agenda for over a decade and almost all states agree that it should have been enlarged. "If you want the Council's decisions to command greater respect, particularly in the developing world, you need to address the issue of its composition with greater urgency," Annan said.