ROUGH CUT - NO REPORTER NARRATION
French President Nicolas Sarkozy braved the rain in Cannes on Friday for a morning jog ahead of what was expected to be another day at the G20 clouded by tense talks on the future of the euro zone.
As Sarkozy ran down the Croisette, G20 leaders prepared to try to look beyond what newspapers are calling the Greek tragedy in Cannes that has shaken their annual gathering and agree on measures that will convince markets the risk of further euro zone contagion can be stemmed.
After Greece, Italy, under under fierce pressure from financial markets and European peers, has agreed to have the IMF and the EU monitor its progress with long delayed reforms of pensions, labour markets and privatisation, senior EU sources said on Friday.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, his government close to collapse after more loyalists defected on Thursday, agreed to the step in late-night talks with euro zone leaders and U.S.President Barack Obama on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Cannes, France.
The Italian move came after Greece stepped back from a proposed referendum that could have triggered its exit from the euro area and agreed to seek national consensus in support of a 130 billion euro ($178 billion) new bailout programme.