The trial of six French nationals charged over their attempt to spirit out more than 100 African children from eastern Chad began in the capital Ndjamena Friday, with the accused each facing up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

The members of French aid charity l'Arche de Zoe (Zoe's Ark), who are being tried alongside three Chadians and a Sudanese refugee charged with conspiracy, held hands as they walked into the packed courtroom, the BBC reported.

Eric Breteau, the group's head, read out a 14-page statement telling the court that l'Arche de Zoe acted in full transparency throughout its mission to Chad.

Some reports said that discussions were ongoing to secure a presidential pardon if the group of six aid workers was found guilty of kidnapping the 103 children, possibly putting an end to a tumultuous scandal that has soured French-Chadian relations.

The trial was set to last no longer than one week, the BBC reported.

In France, junior minister for cooperation Jean-Marie Bockel told LCI television that the French government was in "constant discussions" with Chadian authorities, including "at the highest level."

He said steps would be taken to ensure the group can return to France "very quickly" once the verdict and sentence is announced. An agreement between Chad and France would allow the six to carry out their sentence in France.

When they were caught in late October, the members of l'Arche de Zoe said they were resettling Darfuri orphans with European families, but investigations showed most of the children were neither from Sudan's embattled province nor orphaned.

Some 17 Europeans were held at first, but a Spanish flight crew, a Belgian pilot and three French journalists were released.

Breteau has blamed the incident on Chadian intermediaries who he said claimed the children were orphaned.

Protests erupted in the capital Ndjamena after French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for the trial to be held in France.

France has a military base in its former colony and its troops are set to make up the bulk of a 4,000-strong European Union peace force set to be deployed on the Chad-Sudan border in January.

The orphan scandal had stoked fears that Deby might cancel the deployment over the strained relations.