Leaders of France, Britain, Germany and Italy will seek at a summit in Paris Saturday to reassure investors and markets jittery about a growing financial and economic crisis.

But European governments differ on how far they should intervene, and their differences could drive them apart.

France has mooted _ and backed off _ a multibillion euro EU-wide government bailout plan, Germany says banks need to find their own way out of the turmoil, and Britain is suggesting a new fund to boost small businesses likely to be hit hard by the downturn.

The talks, hurriedly organized by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, come amid mounting signs that the financial crisis that devastated Wall Street is spilling into the real economy and amplifying a slowdown across Europe.

More worrying is that Europe hasn’t pulled together on dealing with the crisis this week. Both Ireland and Greece have acted independently, angering EU neighbors by offering their banks government guarantees to protect all savings.

This goes far beyond the standard EU guarantee for the first euro20,000 ($27,668) in a bank account _ and could see worried savers elsewhere in Europe move money where they believe it will be safe. Britain and others complain that the plan may break EU rules on a level playing field for businesses.

The summit comes a day after the U.S. Congress approved a $700 billion government plan to buy up bad debt from banks and help unfreeze lending, which President Bush quickly signed into law.

Speaking Saturday before the summit and after talks with Sarkozy, the head of the International Monetary Fund said the crisis is a “trial by fire” for the euro, Europe’s 10-year-old common currency, that requires a quick, coordinated European response. “We have to make sure Europe takes its responsibilities like the United States,” said Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Fears that banks would not be able find credit to cover their debt saw banking shares plunge and forced European governments to step in and save several major banks, including Britain’s Bradford & Bingley, Belgian-Dutch Fortis, Belgium’s Dexia, and Germany’s Hypo Real Estate.

Sarkozy set the stage for Saturday’s summit by calling for “an intense effort to coordinate” Europe’s response.

But a senior Sarkozy aide sought to dampen expectations, saying the French leader, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi are not “going to save the world.”

The talks will try to set out what Europe wants the rest of the world to do to shore up the banking system, ahead of next week’s Group of Eight meeting on the economy involving the four EU nations, the United States, Japan, Russia and Canada.

Sarkozy wants Europe to discuss how to strengthen its banking system and free up credit. But it is unclear what France believes it can achieve. The hasty summit preparations were muddied by a French proposal, voiced by Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, to create an emergency EU fund for struggling banks.

After a swift rejection from Germany, Sarkozy distanced France from the idea. The confusion boded ill for the chances of any strong European response to the crisis being agreed to at the summit.

German Economy Minister Michael Glos told Bild am Sonntag newspaper that any emergency bailout would distract from efforts that banks themselves must make to restore confidence.

“Banks don’t trust each other anymore. That’s the core of the financial market crisis,” he said. “In this situation, I don’t think it’s defensible to demand the state restore the trust that has been gambled away with large-scale debt write-offs using tax money.”

The head of French bank Societe Generale, Frederic Oudea, insisted that some action to shore up confidence and liquidity are vital.

“We are in the eye of the storm,” he told Le Parisien newspaper. “Intervention from states and central banks is essential to avoid a domino effect.”

Britain’s Gordon Brown told reporters that he wanted the summit to focus more on the wider economy, seeking support for a 12 billion pound (US$21 billion; euro15.18 billion) fund to help small businesses survive.

Britain, like France, is forecast to slip into recession this year.

The talks also will be attended by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs the group of euro-zone finance ministers.

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Associated Press Writers Greg Keller and John Leicester in Paris, Patrick McGroarty in Berlin and David Stringer in London contributed to this story.