* Branches in 'grey list' tax havens to close by March 2010
* French banks presence seen as relatively modest (Adds detail, background, changes source)
PARIS, Oct 1 (Reuters) - French banks have promised to close all their branches and outlets in jurisdictions considered to be tax havens from March 2010 onwards, President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said on Thursday.
The French President held a meeting on Thursday to discuss the issue with leading figures including Economy Minister Christine Lagarde and Francois Perol, a former aide to Sarkozy who now runs the BPCE bank.
In April, the OECD published its "grey list" of jurisdictions which it said fell short of full compliance with internationally agreed tax standards.
More than a dozen Caribbean and Atlantic territories were on the list, along with some European countries which have since come off the list.
Countries can get taken off the list if they prove they have strengthened their tax systems.
The OECD removed Austria and San Marino from the grey list earlier this month, while Switzerland -- one of the world's key private banking centres -- has said it expects to get off the list as well..
France's main banks -- BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Societe Generale, BPCE and Credit Mutuel -- have a relatively modest presence in the Caribbean and Atlantic territories when compared to American banks.
Earlier this week, BNP Paribas said it would shut down its Panama and Bahamas operations as part of a move to close subsidiaries situated on the OECD grey list. (Reporting by Yann Le Guernigou and Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Crispian Balmer)