"The situation has remained fragile, so it is undoubtedly necessary to change the ways how the force acts, to be more mobile, more reactive and to improve intelligence," French General Yves de Kermabon said.

He was speaking at a ceremony passing control of the 18,000-strong force to him from German General Holger Kammerhoff.

French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie arrived in Kosovo on earlier Wednesday to accept French command of the multi-national NATO-led peacekeeping force in the southern Serbian province.

"My intention is to work here with the Kosovars, multiply contacts with all Kosovo authorities, both Serb and Albanian, politicians, militaries, religious or security ones, because everything is done for them and with them," Kermabon said.

He said that the clashes in March had sent out a "red signal" and gave "the chance to become aware that the situation has remained fragile and that a lot of progress has yet to be made.

"The first effort is the reinforcement of security," the general said.

Nineteen people were killed in Kosovo in March when ethnic Albanian mobs rampaged against ethnic Serb villages in what NATO commanders described as an organised campaign of "ethnic cleansing".

It was the worst ethnic violence since the end of the 1998-99 war in the UN-administered province, but NATO forces were unable to protect Serb villages as homes and religious buildings were torched.

Meanwhile, Alliot-Marie met with the chief of the UN mission in Kosovo, Soeren Jessen-Petersen.

"Kosovo is probably one of the places in the Balkans where the situation is still fragile and the events in March have shown that the slightest incident can inflame the situation."

She also warned that, ahead of the elections in Kosovo, due to be held on October 23, "the electoral processes are always periods of tensions and maximum risk."

Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova said that "KFOR has proved its capacities and maturity.

"I have promised my support as well as the support of people of Kosovo," Rugova said.

After Kosovo, French Defence minister Alliot-Marie will travel to Kabul to visit French forces deployed in Afghanistan.

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