Nicolas Sarkozy, the rightwing candidate in the French presidential race, said on Sunday night he would ask eurozone politicians to play a greater role in European exchange rate policy if he won the election and lashed out at “speculation” by hedge funds.

Speaking during a television debate he argued that a weaker euro should be a tool to help European industry: “We’ve built the second currency in the world and we’re the only region in the world that obstinately refuses to put our currency to the service of jobs and growth. It can’t last,” he said.