A judge at the Paris administrative court ruled that the campaigners had raised "no serious doubts" about the legality of the aircraft-carrier Clemenceau's transfer to India, where it is to be broken into scrap.

French authorities were waiting for the legal green light to tow the Clemenceau, currently docked at the French naval base of Toulon, to Alang in northwestern India, home to the world's biggest ship-breaking yard.

Environmentalist group Greenpeace and three anti-asbestos groups have tried for months to block the transfer, on the grounds that Indian shipyard workers are not properly protected from the hazards of working with asbestos.

Lawyers for the campaigners insisted the fight was not over, and said they were considering an appeal before the State Council, France's highest court -- although such an appeal would not prevent the ship's departure.

"We may not be able to stop it from leaving, but the Clemenceau won't necessarily make it all the way to India," said Michel Parigot, a leader of the Jussieu and Andeva anti-asbestos groups, who said legal action may be taken in India.

Representing the state, lawyer Joel Alquezar argued in court that the groups were wrongly creating "the impression that India is a lawless state".

Briac Beilvert, chairman of SDI, the French company charged with removing the asbestos and dismantling the ship, said on Friday he could "guarantee that workers' health will be taken into account, whatever their nationality.

The campaigners also argued that the French state's decision to export the mothballed ship violates rules on the handling of dangerous waste.

But Paris says that the Clemenceau, although decommissioned, is a warship and so not bound by the Bale convention of 1989 on the international shipment of dangerous waste.

The Clemenceau, which took part in the 1991 Gulf War, was taken out of service when it was superseded by France's new, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle.

Marine authorities in Toulon said on Thursday the Clemenceau was ready to leave as soon as it was authorised to do so.

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