The scandal erupted in December when the French government advised 30,000 women to have PIP implants removed because of reports that they were more prone to rupturing than standard medical implants. Concern focused on last year's death from cancer of a French woman with PIP implants.

In a brief but defiant interview with RTL radio, Jean-Claude Mas, founder of Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), said he had never denied that his home-made silicone gel was not approved by regulators, and scoffed at the idea that it was a health risk.

Countries such as Britain, Brazil or Argentina where the protheses were also sold, did not share France's recommendation.

There was "no medical, scientific reason" to believe the industrial-grade gel PIP used to fill its protheses was toxic, Mas said, saving his harshest words for French Health Minister Xavier Bertrand.

"This man has decided to reimburse patients even though there was no medical reason to do so," said Mas. "Why pay for women's explantations where there is a real surgery risk? This decision is criminal."

France said it would cover the cost for explantations of PIP implants in French women and pay for the implantation of new protheses in women who received implants after breast cancer.