Chirac called Blair late on Wednesday to discuss the situation in Iraq, after President Saddam Hussein's 24-year grip on power in the country drew to a dramatic end.

During the telephone conversation, Blair also informed Chirac about his discussions with US President George W. Bush during a summit in Belfast, spokeswoman Catherine Colonna said.

Asked about Paris' position on the US-led war against Iraq, she said: "France wishes the conflict to end as quickly as possible, as it has consistently said."

"There can be no doubt about our position," she said.

The Iraqi regime collapsed on Tuesday as US troops poured into the capital amid jubilant scenes and widespread looting.

Chirac stressed "that humanitarian aid must be the absolute priority in the current situation. (He) hopes the necessary security conditions will be established urgently to allow aid to reach the people and the hospitals that need it," she said.

Chirac and Blair also "discussed the role of the United Nations, once security has been re-established, in the political, administrative and economic reconstructon of Iraq".

"They have decided to remain in close contact, in order to continue to discuss this important question," she said.

Blair and Bush pledged on Tuesday that the United Nations would play a "vital role" in the reconstruction of Iraq, while Chirac insisted on a "central role" for the world body in deciding Iraq's future.

French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin and his British counterpart Jack Straw, who met in Paris earlier Wednesday, also urged quick action to avert a humanitarian crisis in Iraq and called for a key postwar role for the United Nations.

SPACE.WIRE