Jean-Claude Trichet, governor of the European Central Bank, on Sunday hit back at French criticism of his handling of monetary policy, saying France’s public finances were “in very great difficulty” and were weighing down the economy.

In an hour-long interview on French television, Mr Trichet fended off the intensifying attacks from President Nicolas Sarkozy, saying he had taken the “necessary decisions” at the helm of the ECB while noting that there were “lessons to be learnt” from the turbulence in the financial markets.