France and Britain have proposed the UN Security Council pass a resolution calling for sanctions and a total arms embargo against Libya, French Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said.
She also said they would propose bringing members of the Libyan regime before the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.
"The situation is very serious, it is absolutely necessary that the ICC is also involved, it can give a very strong signal," she said, adding that there have been "several hundred deaths" in the Libyan regime's bloody crackdown although it is not possible to give a precise death toll.
"There can be no impunity," she said, adding that sanctions could include travel bans for members of Libyan ruler Moamer Kadhafi's regime or financial measures.
"I would like there to be a strong (Security Council) resolution in response to Kadhafi's calls to murder," she said, while remaining prudent on the possibility of imposing a no-fly zone over Libya.
The Libyan military has reportedly been turning its hardware on protesters, including using warplanes to bomb and strafe demonstrators, but Alliot-Marie said a no-fly zone would be impractical while foreigners were being evacuated.
"Foreigners remain in Libya who must be evacuated. We must first of all carry out these evacuations," she said.
The Security Council is expected to meet Friday at 2000 GMT, the minister said on French public radio.
China and Russia, two of the five permanent Security Council nations with veto powers, traditionally resist sanctions against sovereign countries, but a Chinese diplomat said his country was ready to "consider" further action.
China has taken a tougher line on Libya as it has had to move thousands of nationals out of the strife-torn nation.
Russia has said the the use of force against civilians in Libya is "unacceptable," but Prime Minister Vladimir Putin also warned the West against interfering in other countries' internal affairs.
