Sarkozy to meet IMF chief on debt

French President Nicolas Sarkozy met Saturday with International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde shortly in Paris to discuss the eurozone debt crisis, the BBC reported. It is part of a flurry of activity over the weekend which will also see the French leader visit Berlin for talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. They will discuss how to help banks over-exposed to sovereign debt. The European Commission has urged member states to draft a bailout plan to restore confidence in banking. However, Germany and France, the eurozone''s dominant economic powers, have yet to agree on the way to proceed. On Friday, the international ratings agency Fitch downgraded the sovereign credit ratings of Italy and Spain, putting new pressure on two of the eurozone''s biggest economies. Another agency, Moody''s, downgraded 12 banks in the UK and nine in Portugal. Plans to expand the eurozone''s bailout fund, and give it greater powers, were agreed in July and have been ratified by most national parliaments. However, these plans are now seen as inadequate. Further action is now being discussed and leaders have said they hope to announce new measures at a G20 meeting in Cannes at the beginning of November.