Putin will set the tone for the second day of his visit to France by meeting Ernest-Antoine Seilliere, head of the country's most influential employers' group. Putin, who is making his first visit to France since his election in March, meets Prime Minister Lionel Jospin and top lawmakers later Tuesday.
Russia has complained that while Europe is Russia's biggest trading partner, European companies remain reluctant investors.
In particular, Putin is seeking to secure European backing for a long-term major energy deal that would deliver Russian natural gas and oil to Europe in exchange for big investments to modernize the country's decrepit energy sector.
It could be an attractive proposal for European leaders, eager to diversify their sources of energy beyond the oil cartel OPEC. Protests in many countries against soaring oil prices earlier this fall turned energy supply into a hot political issue in Europe.
"The energy sector is of interest to both parties in the long-term. We need to work together to help Russia modernize its energy and industrial sectors," European Union Commission President Romano Prodi told a news conference in Paris after an EU-Russia summit in Paris on Monday.
But Prodi stressed the importance of the private sector, saying, "the EU is merely a facilitator, a catalyst."
French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine last week told reporters he had detected signs of "optimism" about the Russian economy following a meeting recently with French companies that do business in Russia.
Since the loss of its superpower status with the 1991 Soviet disintegration, Russia has sought to boost economic and political ties with Europe and Asia to try to counterbalance U.S. global dominance.
Putin arrived in Paris on Sunday at the start of a four-day visit that began with a summit of European Union leaders followed by bilateral talks with French officials. France currently holds the European Union's six-month rotating presidency.
The Russian leader is seeking deeper economic and security ties with Europe, but the ongoing war in Chechnya has proved a distraction.
France has been one of the most severe critics of Russia's war against Chechen separatists and the issue has soured relations with France and the European Union in recent months.
On Monday, Putin and European leaders agreed jointly for the first time on the urgent need to find a political solution in Chechnya but insisted that Russian sovereignty must not be compromised.
They also discussed the EU's proposed new defense force _ a rapid reaction force of between 50,000 and 60,000 troops, able to deploy within 60 days and sustain itself for a year. The corps is due to be operational by 2003.
French President Jacques Chirac said Russia and the European Union have decided to hold "specific consultations" on security issues.
The volatile situation in the Middle East was expected to be on the agenda Tuesday as well as ways of aiding reconstruction in the Balkans.
Putin will also lay a wreath the tomb of the unknown soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and visit the Louvre Museum.
(AP)