PARIS (Reuters) - France demanded a clarification from Britain on Tuesday after British Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt appeared to suggest French and Russian firms had violated U.N. sanctions on Iraq.

However, Hewitt's ministry had been referring more generally to companies worldwide that have infringed sanctions.

In an interview with BBC World Service Radio on Monday, Hewitt was asked what role she envisaged for French and Russian firms in the postwar reconstruction of Iraq.

She said the matter would have to be discussed in the United Nations and by the interim authority that is expected to be set up in Iraq.

She continued: "I must say, if I were an Iraqi minister in the new Iraqi government, I think I would personally take a poor view of companies that have been breaking U.N. sanctions and supporting Saddam's vile regime."

The comments angered the French.