Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s president, says he will attend next month’s meeting of European finance ministers to explain his tax-cutting strategy and argue for a more co-ordinated economic policy in the eurozone.

In a speech to parliamentarians on Wednesday, Mr Sar­kozy promised that France would stick by the commitments it had made to its European partners to tighten its public finances. However, he seemed to suggest that he would plead for a looser timetable to enable France to conduct vital structural reforms.