French insurers have fended off the threat of legislation that would have forced them to invest much bigger sums in private equity, by reluctantly committing €6bn ($7.2bn) over three years to the sector.

Members of the Fédération Française des Sociétés d'Assurances, the insurance industry's trade body, last week bowed to pressure from Nicolas Sarkozy, the finance minister, and signed a letter pledging to invest €6bn by the end of 2007 in unlisted companies.