Sarkozy unveils new bonus rules for French banks

He said on pay in French banks would now be more closely tied to results.

"From now on, the trader must wait three years to cash in all of their bonus and if in the two years following, their activity loses money, he will not have his bonus," he said.

Sarkozy, who was speaking after meeting French bankers, said the state would not give mandates to banks who refused to follow the rules and that the head of BNP Paribas had already agreed to put them in place.

Sarkozy said he would meet the bankers again after the Pittsburgh G20 meeting on Sept 24-25 but would not back down on the new rules, even if other countries did not follow France.

He also said he did not want to damage the reputation of Paris as a financial centre.

(Reporting by Anna Willard and Sudip Kar Gupta; Editing by James Mackenzie)