France threatens to pull out of G20 summit
Published:Tuesday | March 31, 2009 | 6:02 PM
France has threatened to pull out of this week\'s G20 summit if its demands for stricter financial regulation are not met.
Finance minister Christine Lagarde said President Nicolas Sarkozy would not sign any agreement if he felt the deliverables are not there.
France wants a stronger global financial regulator than the US and the UK would like.
If France were to leave the summit, it would be a blow to both UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and US President Barack Obama.
Both men have spoken of their high hopes for the meeting to stimulate an international recovery.
President Obama is due to arrive in London for the summit.
It will be his first visit to Europe since he became president.