The creation of a new representative body would help Muslim leaders and French authorities address issues such as security, prevention of radicalization and preventing anti-Muslims acts, he said.

This body would meet with the government twice a year, on a model inspired by the dialogue the French government has had with leaders of the Catholic church since 2002. The French government also regularly consults with Jewish community leaders via the country's main Jewish organization, the CRIF council.

The plan has been decided together with leaders of the existing French Muslim council, the CFCM, created in 2003.

It is important for the Muslim community in France to be able to count on "trained and well-qualified people to take out of (Muslim) religion all poisons of fanaticism and fundamentalism," the president of the CFCM and rector of Paris' mosque, Dalil Boubakeur, said Tuesday.

The training at university would be mandatory for Muslim chaplains who work in prisons.

On related news, the interior minister has visited on the same day three mosques in Bordeaux and Cenon where he met with leaders of the Muslim community.

With AP