Europe's trade commissioner will attack France's government on its own doorstep today with a ringing defence of the free market.

Peter Mandelson will tell the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry that competition is not a "dirty word" in a line-by-line rebuttal of the views of Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president.

"Competition as an ideology, a dogma, what has it done for Europe?" Mr Sarkozy asked last week after securing the removal of a key commitment to "free and undistorted competition" from the EU's reform treaty.

Mr Mandelson's answer is precise. "Competition should indeed not be some sort of dogma or religion. But nor is it a dirty word," he will say. "Competition has helped make Europe rich and France one of the most productive economies in Europe. Competition is how we keep our markets efficient and dynamic; keep prices low for consumers and maintain innovation. Competition is a source of creativity. Without it, our economies would stagnate."

The former British trade secretary will also rebuff Mr Sarkozy's claim that trade "reciprocity" required greater EU protectionism. "The response to a fortress Europe is a fortress US, or a fortress China and India. We need reciprocal openness, not reciprocal barriers."

Mr Mandelson will say that the French government is using tough rhetoric to disguise its domestic reform agenda, and the tactic could backfire.

Mr Sarkozy, who has already called for Mr Mandelson to be demoted, may treat his remarks as a declaration of war rather than a wake-up call, raising tensions between Paris and Brussels. - (Financial Times Service)