G20 protests- welcome to London. Now let the battle begin

[CHIMO]

Gordon Brown was battling last night to prevent Franco-German brinkmanship from wrecking his hopes of an historic agreement by the G20 countries today to reshape capitalism and revive the stalled global economy.

In a day of breathless diplomacy in London, ranging across arms control and financial capitalism, Brown and Barack Obama emphasised a developing convergence, only for Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, and Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, to lay down "non-negotiable red lines" on issues such as hedge funds and tax havens which they insisted had to be met today and not deferred until future gatherings.

The belligerent tone jarred as it came hours after Brown, standing side by side with Obama in the gilded splendour of the Foreign Office, had declared that the leading countries were hours away from securing a deal to reform the global economy.

Far from rowing back from the aggressive posturing which Sarkozy had adopted before flying to London, the French leader resumed the theme, saying this was no time for making "fancy speeches" and dismissing the idea of a summit later in the year. Speaking at a Knightsbridge hotel, he said he trusted Obama, but he blamed America, saying: "The crisis didn't actually spontaneously erupt in Europe, did it?"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/02/g20-london-france-germany-deal