France said on Thursday it recognized the rebel Libyan National Council as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people, an official at French President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said on Thursday.
The official said France would be sending an ambassador to Benghazi and receiving a Libyan envoy in Paris.
He was speaking after a meeting between Sarkozy and officials from the Libyan National Council.
Both sides in Libya are lobbying for support from Western countries as their leaders debate whether to protect the rebels from Muammar Gadhafi's air force by putting a no-fly zone over some or all of the country.
NATO and the European Union began two days of talks on Libya on Thursday focusing on the possibility of a "no-fly" zone after some of the fiercest fighting on the ground in almost three weeks of clashes.
The Pentagon said it was preparing a "full range" of military options for Libya, including a no-fly zone, with the plans to be discussed by NATO defense ministers at a meeting in Brussels.
"NATO is not looking to intervene in Libya, but we have asked our military to conduct prudent planning for all eventualities," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told Britain's Sky News.
Italy, whose bases could play a critical role in any military action, has said it will back any decisions taken by NATO, the EU or the United Nations, clearing the way for U.S. naval forces based in Naples to be deployed if needed.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has made it clear imposing a no-fly zone is a matter for the United Nations and should not be a U.S.-led initiative.
However, Russia and China, permanent members of the UN Security Council, are cool to the idea, which could entail bombing Libyan air defenses as a first step.
EU foreign ministers also meet to discuss North Africa in Brussels on Thursday, with the focus on how the 27-country bloc can support the process of political transition in Egypt and Tunisia, while using sanctions and any other political means to apply pressure on Gadhafi to move aside.