The French president, who starts his trip on Saturday in India's southern technology hub of Bangalore, will lead a delegation of 50 senior businessmen as well as top Cabinet officials including Economy Minister Christine Lagarde.

Sarkozy, who took the helm of the Group of 20 this month, will meet Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday with France hoping for a breakthrough in talks to build two nuclear reactors and supply 126 fighter jets to India's air force.

However officials said the most likely deal to be concluded during the trip was a smaller 1.5 billion-euro contract for defense electronics group Thales to modernize 51 Mirage 2000 planes for India's air force.

"Will this be settled during the visit? We hope so, but discussions are still ongoing," said a French presidency source.

French nuclear group Areva signed a memorandum of understanding last year with Nuclear Power Corp. of India (NPCIL) to supply at least two EPR water pressurized reactors, estimated at some 7 billion euros. Indian has given the green light for construction and suggested a framework contract could be concluded during the visit.

"India is a school for patience," said a French presidency source, noting the nuclear talks were "advancing well" but it was possible nothing would be signed during Sarkozy's trip.

Sarkozy's visit to India, an emerging market star whose fast-developing power sector excites foreign investors, comes soon after visits by US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron. Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao are due in India before the end of the year.

"For a long time, India has not been a priority of French diplomacy. The deal has changed for economic reasons and its a country where people are rushing today," said Gilles Boquerat, researcher at French international relations institute IFRI.

Sarkozy has also said he will use the visit to gauge support for his G20 agenda of reform of the international monetary system, improvements in global governance and greater stability in international commodity prices.

"They're certainly going to discuss G20 issues. That's one reason why Lagarde will be there," said one government source.

With military spending in many countries curbed by the financial downturn, India's deal for 126 fighters has drawn wide interest.

France's Rafale produced by Dassault Aviation faces stiff competition from the Typhoon made by the Eurofighter consortium — grouping Britain's BAE Systems, Italy's Finmeccanica and EADS — which came out on top of a technical evaluation by the Indian air force.