Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel were on Friday at loggerheads over the independence of the European Central Bank after the French president accused the ECB of allowing the economy to “sink”, while the German chancellor vowed to block any political interference in monetary policy.

Mr Sarkozy told French television on Thursday he had a right to criticise the ECB, and he proceeded to do so, saying it should follow the example of the US Federal Reserve, which cut rates by 50 basis points this week.