French Finance Minister Mr Herve Gaymard said today the world risked an "economic catastrophe" unless the United States worked with Europe and Asia on currency movements at a February G7 meeting.
"It's absolutely essential that at the meeting of the G7 our American friends understand that we need coordinated management at the world level," Mr Gaymard said on a visit to a General Motors factory in the eastern French city of Strasbourg.
"If we stay as we are with no coordination, one can imagine a catastrophic economic situation at the global level," he said. Mr Gaymard said it would be impossible to achieve anything unless the "triangle of Europe, the United States and Asia" worked together.