Despite a promise to step up France's role in the European Union, French President Nicolas Sarkozy risks riling Paris' partners in the euro zone on Monday over his economic policies.

True to his image as a whirlwind of activity, the new French leader has invited himself to a regular dinner meeting on Monday of finance ministers from the 13 countries sharing the euro.

"This unusual move should be seen as an attempt to add political weight to help smooth the discussion of his plan to delay by two years the elimination of the public deficit in France," said Bank of America economist Gilles Moec.

In addition to making his case for pushing back the previous government's commitment to balance the state accounts by 2010, Sarkozy is also due to flesh out his plans for giving a higher political profile to the euro zone.

However, both initiatives could prove to be contentious, especially with Germany, which is making big efforts to balance its books and is suspicious of Sarkozy's push for more "economic governance" for the euro zone.