(Adds details, background)
PARIS, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Foreign exchange will be addressed as part of a broader economic discussion at this weekend's meeting of finance ministers from the Group of Seven industrial countries, a senior French official said on Tuesday.
"We will not talk about exchange rates explicitly, it will be part of the (economic) framework (discussions)," said the official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity.
Finance ministers and central bank heads from the G7 countries are due to meet on Saturday in Canada.
The spirit of this weekend's G7 gathering would shift from that seen in the past given that the Group of 20 nations was now considered the leading forum for the discussion of global economic issues, he said.
The G7 countries would not get bogged down in negotiating a traditional, all-embracing communique traditionally issued at the close of such meetings, he said, although it was possible that statements on specific issues could be made.
"The idea...is to have deep discussions in a tight group...and which allows us, to a certain extent, not to be hostage to what would be said publicly," he said.
The framework for sustainable world growth, financial reform initiatives and development issues are expected to be discussed.
Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said last week that bank reforms by the United States, Britain and other nations would also be a key focus of the G7 talks.
Japan's finance minister, Naoto Kan, said on Tuesday that G7 finance ministers may discuss the Chinese yuan, seen by many nations as a major source of global economic imbalances. (Reporting by Tamora Vidaillet and Brian Love; editing by Andy Bruce)