By Julien Pretot

PARIS - French clubs will boycott next season's European club Rugby Union competitions - including the elite Heineken Cup.

The decisiion follows a conflict involving England's RFU and Premiership clubs, the French national league (LNR) said.

In a statement issued late on Tuesday, the LNR said that an internal dispute between the English game's governing body and the Premiership had led to uncertainty over the future of the competitions and it therefore had decided to pull out French clubs.

LNR president Serge Blanco said the conflict centred on an agreement by the RFU and the French federation to give 50 per cent of their stakes in European Rugby Cup (ERC) to their clubs.

"After months of talks, this principle had been accepted, also by the RFU," the LNR statement read. "But the RFU today claims that they don't have an agreement with Premier Rugby.

"If the RFU had accepted to give 50 per cent of their stakes to the clubs, we would have taken part in the competitions," Blanco told French sports daily L'Equipe.

A spokesman for ERC, which organises the Heineken Cup and second tier Challenge Cup, said that the French announcement would not affect the current review of the format and regulations of both competitions.

"ERC will continue with the process of reviewing the Paris Accord, which runs out in July 2007," said media manager John Corcoran."Our last stakeholder meeting took place in Dublin on January 13, when the French Union but not the French clubs were represented, and the next will take place on February 14."

An RFU spokesman said he was unable to comment on the proposed boycott until all the details and statements had been seen.

Blanco has long been an outspoken defender of the French club competition and said that next season, when France host the World Cup in September and October, the combination of internationals and Heineken Cup matches would place intolerable pressure on the French league and the English Premiership.

Last April he threatened a French boycott of the Heineken Cup because he wanted France and England to have more representation in its organisation on the basis of their strong playing record and wanted to reduce the number of qualification slots from Wales and Ireland.

Since the tournament began in 1995-96, French and English clubs have won nine of the 11 finals between them, with Ireland taking the other two, including Munster's success last year.

(Additional reporting by Mitch Phillips in London)