Sunday, October 29, 1995 LONDON (Reuter) -- Hundreds of people protesting against French nuclear testing invaded the grounds of Prime Minister John Major's official country home on Sunday as Major prepared to greet French President Jacques Chirac. The demonstration, by members of the environmental group Greenpeace and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), took place about an hour before Chirac arrived for a two-day summit, expected to be overshadowed by France's nuclear test campaign in the South Pacific. Protesters carried French flags bearing radiation symbols and blew whistles and Klaxons. In a speech at a formal dinner opening the summit, Major said British and French interests were inextricably linked and emphasized the need for Britain and France to work together, not just in Europe but at the United Nations and around the world. "We will not always agree on every point. Our nations are too independent, too proud, perhaps too individual to do that but our interests are inextricably linked," he said. "We will generally agree on the great issues, certainly far, far more often than we will disagree. That is a pretty good basis for a rich friendship." Greenpeace said dozens of police, some on horseback, failed to prevent the invasion of more than 500 protesters. Police said they arrested 12 people and were unable to confirm the organizers' estimate of the number of invaders. Chirac arrived two days after the third in a series of French nuclear tests in the Mururoa atoll in French Polynesia. Britain has refused to join an international chorus of criticism of the tests. Anti-nuclear campaigners were angered by an interview with Major published in the French newspaper Le Monde before before Friday's test in which he declined to criticize France. "I don't think criticizing France is the best way to attain our long-term goal, which is the prohibition of all nuclear tests," Major was quoted as saying. CND chairwoman Janet Bloomfield said: "If John Major wanted to persuade Jacques Chirac by adopting a softly softly strategy, then that has clearly failed. The French government has found comfort in the British government's weakness." She added: "He (Major) seems to be allying himself with probably the most unpopular politician in the world today." Chirac's meeting with Major is one of a series of annual summits between leaders of the two countries, the only ones in Western Europe with nuclear arsenals. British sources said the accent on this meeting would be on defense. The two leaders plan a round of talks at Chequers on Monday before inaugurating the Franco-British European Air Group, a joint effort to plan and command bilateral air operations, at an air base near London. They will go into London for a lunch followed by a news conference at the foreign ministry. Major faces more criticism of his handling of the French nuclear testing issue when he attends a Commonwealth heads of government meeting in New Zealand from November 10 to 13. Former members of the British empire in the Pacific region, including New Zealand and Australia, have been outraged at the tests, which they say could result in leaks of radioactivity.