François Fillon says saving the euro is vital to Britain's interests - Telegraph.co.uk

In the wake of the two countries' defence rapprochement and pledges to share sea power, Mr Fillon will declare that there are "no obstacles to the strengthening of Franco-British integration, and no taboos surrounding it," pointing out that two countries' markets are "intertwined" in areas like energy.

"It's by joining forces, working together in partnership that we can exercise leadership in Europe and the international institutions." Mr Fillon will also claim that his government's reform programme will ensure France cuts its deficit from 7.7 per cent this year to 3 per cent in 2010 in line with EU commitments.

"I've come to tell you that my government's absolute priority is to continue the reforms we began in 2007: a reform of the public finances, of course, but also economic and social reforms," he will say.

Among those enacted, he will mention recent pension reforms, in which France increased the legal retirement aged from 60 to 62 and full retirement entitlement aged from 65 to 67.

"In a country with a reputation for being hostile to reforms, we've managed to introduce increases in the age threshold two to four times faster than in Germany, the UK and the United States," he will say.

Mr Fillon, who is due to meet David Cameron and Nick Clegg today at Downing Street, will praise the British government's "bold programme of budgetary recovery", saying France has also launched the most rigorous programme to curb public spending for 20 years; "On both sides of the Channel, the only responsible option to guarantee our sovereignty and economic independence is budgetary discipline," he will say.