DAVOS: The Davos forum opened its first day of discussions yesterday with a focus on how to improve the regulation of the financial sector to avoid future crises and whether the global economy can maintain sustainable recovery.

In a keynote address to the Davos forum, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called for tighter financial regulation, and criticized unrestrained free-market capitalism.

"There are remuneration packages that will no longer be tolerated because they bear no relationship to merit," Sarkozy said.