(Adds French Foreign Ministry paragraphs 3,7-8)

By Nadim Ladki

BEIRUT, July 13 (Reuters) - Rival Lebanese politicians open French-sponsored roundtable talks near Paris on Saturday which could make modest progress towards ending an 8-month-old political crisis that threatens to plunge Lebanon into chaos.

Officials have been at pains to dampen expectations for the 2-day meeting, hosted by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner at a secluded site in the Saint-Cloud suburb.

The French Foreign Ministry said the meeting had been cut to two days from three because Kouchner had other engagements.

Hopes for the meeting do not exceed laying the groundwork for a resumption of dialogue between the various factions in Beirut on how to break their impasse.

"I do not look to Paris as the final station. I look at it as a starting point of a new strategy," MP Ibrahim Kanaan, a representative of Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun, told Beirut's Daily Star newspaper.

"It could pave the way for breaking the ice and rebuild trust to resume the dialogue in Beirut," said Minister of State Michel Faroun, who will represent Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.

French Foreign Ministry spokesman Denis Simonneau said Paris also had low expectations.

"What we hope for is that the people will be able to meet, and it is up to them to say during this meeting what they see happening next, what they expect of this contact, and how they see the future," he told a news briefing in Paris.

About 30 politicians representing 14 Lebanese leaders from across Lebanon's broad political spectrum will attend the meeting. Four or five civic society leaders will also attend.

Lebanon has been paralysed by the crisis that erupted in November when six opposition ministers quit the government over Siniora's refusal to give the Hezbollah-led opposition veto power in his Western-backed cabinet.

The deadlock has spilled over into street demonstrations, an open-ended sit-in in downtown Beirut and occasional sectarian violence that has killed 10 people and wounded 400.

All efforts, notably those of Arab League chief Amr Moussa, to break the impasse have failed and with time running out before a divided parliament is set to elect a new president from September 24, former colonial power France intervened.

Kouchner's envoy Jean-Claude Cousseran, who was in Beirut recently to invite participants, has also held talks in Tehran and with Western officials to pave the way for the meeting.

PUZZLE

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said the new talks could nudge the factions towards a solution.

"The pieces of the puzzle are starting to be better identified and the meeting will contribute to that," he told France's La Croix daily. "... one must find a consensus on the choice of the president and benefit from this dynamic to also advance the consensus on the formation of a new government." French authorities will impose a news blackout on the talks, ban journalists from the venue and restrict participants' telephone calls to minimise disruptions.

The participation of Hezbollah, represented by former Energy Minister Mohammed Fneish and an aide, was thrown into doubt this week after comments attributed to President Nicolas Sarkozy linked the group to terrorism.

But the Shi'ite group, which fought a 34-day war against Israel last year and still holds two Israeli soldiers, went ahead after an official clarification.

Fears are high in Beirut that if no compromise is reached before the presidential election, Lebanon will be plunged into a power vacuum or be saddled with two rival administrations. Either scenario could lead to widespread violence.

Lebanon has been in turmoil since the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri and the hurried pullout of Syrian forces after a 29-year presence. A wave of bombings has killed several anti-Syrian figures and battles with al Qaeda-inspired militants have killed 216 people so far.

The term of the current president, pro-Syrian Emile Lahoud, expires on November 24. (Additional reporting by Brian Rohan in Paris)

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