Fri Oct 5, 1:30 PM ET

PARIS - French oil group Total has no intention of withdrawing from Myanmar though it will heed President Nicolas Sarkozy's request to freeze future investments, company president Christophe de Margerie said Friday.

"Investing in the country at this stage would be a provocation," he told Le Monde newspaper. "But our investments go back to the 1990s and there have been none since.

"Total will not pull out. Some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) want us to, but others recognise the usefulness of what we are doing," he said.

De Margerie rejected allegations that Total uses forced labour at its gas-field in Yadana. This week the Belgian courts re-opened a case brought by Myanmar refugees alleging human rights abuses.

"Twice already there have been cases before Belgian courts, and twice they have been rejected. I repeat: there is no forced labour at our installations," he said.

Last week Sarkozy urged French businesses including Total to freeze their investments in Myanmar, where the military regime has violently suppressed pro-democracy demonstrations.