'Sick man' France slashes growth forecasts and urges Draghi to act

"With zero growth in the second quarter, thereby extending the stagnation we saw in the first, our country is slowing down and will not achieve the one-percent growth observers were predicting three months ago," Mr Sapin wrote in French daily Le Monde.

France had forecast a deficit of 3.8pc this year and had promised the European Union it would get the deficit down to around the three-percent limit by the end of next year - a commitment that is increasingly unlikely given slow growth.

However, Mr Sapin wrote: "The truth is that, as a direct consequence of sluggish growth and insufficient inflation, France will not meet its public deficit target this year despite a complete control of spending."

He said France would cut its deficit "at an appropriate pace" as he revised upwards the forecast for France's public deficit, saying it would be "above 4pc of gross domestic product" this year.

He said EU policies must be adapted to take into account the economic environment.

Europe needs a monetary policy "adapted to the exceptional situation of weak growth and weak inflation across the euro zone," he said, urging the European Central Bank to do more to combat deflationary risks and make the euro more competitive.

The op-ed was published just after France's INSEE statistics office said the economy posted no growth in the three months to June, the second quarter in a row that the economy was flat.

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