Financial officials from the Group of Seven industrialised nations will discuss how to coordinate action between their countries’ central banks, a source said today.

Hackers launched cyber attacks on French government computers in search of information about the Group of 20 leading economies, the budget minister says.

The French government unveiled a package of spending cuts and tax rises in a bid to reduce the deficit sharply in the face of pressure from its European partners and international investors.

FRENCH President Nicolas Sarkozy prepared yesterday to shake up his government after a humiliating defeat by the left in regional elections pressured him to recast his reform programme.