"We made the decision to end any cooperation with the Louvre until they return'' the works, antiquities chief Zahi Hawass said.
He alleged that the renowned Paris museum bought the antiquities in 1980 even though its curators knew they were stolen.
"The purchase of stolen steles is a sign that some museums are prepared to encourage the destruction and theft of Egyptian antiquities,'' he said.
French sources said that the antiquities Egypt was demanding are decorative fragments from a tomb in the Valley of the Kings near Luxor.
French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand pledged that France is ready to return the relics to Egypt if the Pharaonic antiquities at the Louvre Museum are indeed stolen.
Mr Mitterrand said he has convened a meeting for Friday of a special commission that is empowered to rule on restitution, according to a culture ministry statement.
"The minister is ready, if the commission were to issue a favourable ruling, to implement provisions of the UNESCO convention and restitute the relics to the Egyptian authorities without delay,'' the statement said.
A member of the Louvre's executive said it is open to the idea of returning the works, which are on display in its galleries, but that the decision is not the museum's alone.
Source: The Australian
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