The 400-seat Mogador theatre where the gig will supposedly take place on Monday would say only that it had been booked for that date by Carmignac investment fund.

Carmignac itself declined to comment, as did Universal, the Stones' record label. But French websites and Twitter were full of speculation that the ageing rockers would be taking to the stage at the Mogador next week.

Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood told Britain's NME rock magazine this week that the band may perform under their Cockroaches guise in breaks from rehearsals currently taking place in Paris.

"There's going to be little club gigs that we're going to surprise ourselves to do as well, we'll bung a few in next week or the week after, so look out for any Cockroaches gigs or whatever!" he said.

Last week the band announced four major gigs in Britain and the United States to mark their 50th anniversary.

The Stones' last concerts were in 2007.