But the man most likely to be France's next President warned David Cameron that any attempt to create a "sanctuary" from regulation for the City of London was "not acceptable".
Mr Hollande will visit London on 29 February to speak to the Labour leader, Ed Milliband [sic], and perhaps the Prime Minister.
In a meeting with British and American journalists, he said: "We need a Great Britain that will take its place in Europe."
The polls place Mr Hollande way ahead of Nicolas Sarkozy, the incumbent conservative, who is expected to officially launch his re-election bid this week.
Mr Hollande sent ripples of alarm in the City last month by laying into "big finance", calling London's financial centre his "greatest adversary" in his first major campaign rally.
Yesterday, he warned that Britain could not expect to escape more financial regulation, despite Mr Cameron's decision not to sign the recent European fiscal pact.
"David Cameron's attempt to create a sanctuary from regulation for the City of London is not acceptable," he said. » | Henry Samuel in Paris | Monday, February 13, 2012
