Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, renewed his call for a European carbon tax on imports to the bloc on Thursday as he unveiled details of a new charge on fossil fuel products in France.

Nicolas Sarkozy tours a factory in eastern France: he told workers his proposal was ‘vital for our industries and our jobs. This has nothing to do with protectionism’

“I will not accept a system ... that imports products from countries that don’t respect the rules [on carbon emission reductions],” he said in a speech to factory workers in the eastern Ain region of France.