As President Thabo Mbeki departs for his state visit to France on Sunday, the French government is determined to stay clear of what it regards as a domestic South African fight over the investigation into Deputy President Jacob Zuma and the multibillion-rand arms deal.

Both Mbeki's office and the French government insist that the request by the Scorpions to conduct further investigations into possible corruption in the arms deal will not feature on the agenda of talks between Mbeki and French President Jacques Chirac.

The state visit is seen as a major boost for the strategic relationship between France and South Africa as well as increasing trade and French investment in the country and co-operation in African conflicts.

Mbeki will be accompanied by a large delegation of captains of industry, mainly aimed at beefing up trade between the two countries.

But there are fears that the cloud of the Scorpions investigation into Zuma could hang over the visit.

French sources insist there is no evidence to implicate Zuma in soliciting a R500 000 bribe to secure the contract for the combat suites for the corvettes for the French company Thales following evidence in an encrypted fax that such a bribe had been solicited.

The French government has yet to respond to a request made by the Scorpions in July directly to a French judge in charge of the case, Edith Boizette, to get two officials of Thales to testify.

A French embassy spokesperson said on Saturday that the first request by the Scorpions in 2001 had been granted but the second request had moved beyond the judicial level.

"The second request involved confidential matters and required the French justice and defence ministries to make a decision," said Jean-Marie Le Bon, the French embassy's media spokesperson.

This was to ensure the probe into Thales was not in conflict with French defence and national interests. The French regard the second request as something that has emerged from political differences within the South African political establishment rather than a purely judicial matter.

Thales, a sub-contractor in the arms deal, had insisted in the past that no bribe was paid although it was not prepared to comment on whether one was solicited. But the controversy around the corvettes could have potentially grave consequences for both countries.

The Chirac government, which has been rocked by a number of corruption scandals involving French-based companies recently, is unlikely to be party to uncovering details of alleged graft in the Thales deal. The first of the four corvettes has already been delivered to Simon's Town.

It is understood that Thales has its eye on a number of other South African contracts and last year put in a bid to modernise South Africa's air traffic controls. But proof of corruption by Thales in the corvette combat suite sub-contract could lead to the cancellation of the deal.

Reports in France have suggested that a nod from Mbeki to the Scorpions' request could secure the green light for the execution of a second investigation.

While the Scorpions request is not on the formal agenda for the visit, Aziz Pahad, the deputy foreign minister, said this week that the issue may come up in "one-to-one" discussions between Mbeki and Chirac.

It is understood the Scorpions want to question Jean-Paul Perrier, now a director of Thales, who is believed to have been a recipient of the encrypted fax that had been cited as prima facie evidence that Zuma solicited a bribe from the company.

A team of Scorpions already had a preliminary meeting with Perrier in Paris in September.

A warrant of arrest is also out for Alain Thethard, the alleged author of the fax, for providing the Scorpions with conflicting information. He was questioned by the Scorpions in 2001, but they discovered the fax only after he had left South Africa.

Sipho Ngwema, the Scorpions spokesperson, said the evidence sought from France since July was crucial for the successful prosecution on charges of corruption and fraud of Schabir Shaik, who is connected to Thomson-Thales through African Defence Systems.

Shaik, who is Zuma's financial adviser, has also been investigated for allegedly soliciting a bribe from Thales.

Bulelani Ngcuka, the director of public prosecutions, told the Foreign Correspondents' Association last weekend that the trial of Shaik next year would vindicate his statement that there was prima facie evidence of corruption against Zuma.

With acknowledgements to John Battersby, Christelle Terreblanche and The Sunday Independent.