François Fillon, the French prime minister, on Monday called on Europe to co-ordinate its response to the eurozone’s growing economic malaise after holding an emergency session of his own ministers to examine measures to deal with France’s faltering consumer confidence.

Mr Fillon said there was no need for a new domestic plan to relaunch France’s stuttering economy. He said investing more public money would “solve no purpose” – the only answer was to continue with structural reform.