THE FIRST phase of a French inquiry into the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier has been completed and several Irish witnesses will now receive requests to travel to France to testify at private hearings.

Film producer Sophie Toscan du Plantier was murdered at her holiday home at Toormore, near Schull in west Cork, in December 1996. An inquiry into her unsolved killing has been initiated by the French authorities. Supt Liam Horgan of Bantry garda station and Det Garda Jim Fitzgerald of Bandon garda station travelled to Paris in October and testified at the private hearing before Judge Patrick Gachon, who is be­ing assisted by Judge Nathalie Dutartre.

The two gardaí have been involved in the Irish probe into the murder. The magistrates are now considering the garda evidence in consultation with the French state prosecutor. France's state prosecutor is equivalent to the DPP in Ireland. The magistrates are currently drawing up a list of all the civilian witnesses who they wish to hear evidence from. Those witnesses are expected to receive requests to travel to France to testify at the inquiry in the coming weeks.

Gachon's inquiry team is considering calling up to 30 witnesses from Cork and elsewhere who gave statements to gardaí, it is understood.

Journalist Ian Bailey was once the chief suspect in the killing and has launched proceedings to sue An Garda Síochána and the state for allegedly conspiring to wrongfully convict him of the Frenchwoman's murder. His solicitor Frank Buttimer said he did not believe his client could be compelled to attend the hearing in France. Another person of significant interest to the inquiry is shopkeeper Marie Farrell. Farrell had made a statement claiming to have seen Bailey on the night of the murder in an area close to where it took place. Later, she publicly announced no such sighting took place by her and that her statements came about at the instigation of members of the garda. Bailey was later arrested twice in connection with the murder. He was released without charge on both occasions.

Gachon and Dutartre visited Ireland last year and spent three days in west Cork carrying out inquiries. They visited Toscan's du Plantier's house, where they were shown where her badly beaten body was discovered.

Gachon obtained the garda file earlier this year after Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy sanctioned its handing over following the completion of a review into the garda handling of the original investigation.

As well as seeking to establish who killed Toscan du Plantier, the judges are also looking at obstruction of justice issues in relation to the case. Under French law, anyone who impedes a murder investigation can be prosecuted for obstructing justice.

Lawyer Alain Spilliaert, a member of The Association for the Truth about the Murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, said: "Ian Bailey is an important person in this matter. If he does not want to come to France to give evidence, maybe that is a bad sign. If he has nothing to fear, he should come."