Entente formidable in Paris

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By Jo Coburn Political correspondent, BBC News, Paris

The two leaders have a shared interest in seeming to be on top of events

It was Gordon Brown's third meeting with President Sarkozy in a month, although the first chez lui at the president's private residence in woodland in Versailles.

The two leaders seem to be politically joined at the hip since the economic crisis took hold - the Anglo-French rapprochement well and truly sealed.

It suits both men, of course, to be grandstanding together on the world stage.

For Nicolas Sarkozy, it is a boost to France's presidency of the European Union.

For Gordon Brown, it is all part of turning around his fortunes at home.

It also plays into the narrative that "we're all in this together", a distraction from any homegrown policy failures.

'Hand in glove'

On Tuesday President Sarkozy declared that the two men were working "hand in glove" while Gordon Brown described the current state of EU cooperation as "a defining moment".

The practical reason for the prime minister's visit was to sell his plan to bolster the IMF's reserve fund.

The $250bn (£153bn) pot is available to member countries which run into financial trouble.

It sounds plentiful enough, but with 185 countries potentially eligible to draw on the fund, Gordon Brown is worried about economic "contagion" spreading.

He wants the oil rich countries to cough up the lion's share of any extra cash, laying the ground for his trip to the Gulf region at the weekend.

The prime minister is also talking to Premier Wen of China to see if he'll get out his cheque book too.

The flight of capital from Hungary and the Ukraine has left two seriously ailing economies and made everyone else worried about catching something nasty from the East.

The prime minister and President Sarkozy have also prepared the ground ahead of next week's European summit in Brussels.

So as not to leave out the Germans, Angela Merkel is flying into London on Thursday for her one-to-one with Brown.

Then the PM goes global with his plans for reform of the world's big financial institutions.

He will be bringing those to the table for discussion at the international summit in Washington DC in two weeks time.

Saving the world from economic meltdown is a full-time job for the prime minister at the moment and one that he relishes.

But as the harsh reality of the downturn takes hold at home, he may find his new status takes a real bashing.

Bon voyage.