G20: Protesters go on the march in France – in pictures

Activists of Oxfam France dressed as the G20 leaders hit a fake red carpet at the Petit Palais in Paris ahead of the summit in Cannes this week. Leaders of the world's biggest economies begin their two-day meeting on the French Riviera on Thursday Photograph: MARTIN BUREAU/AFP/Getty Images

A man prepares placards for demonstrators in Nice this week. The leaders of the world's economic powerhouses are hoping to agree measures to head off the threat of global recession. NGOs are concerned the summit will focus too much on the search for growth and the European plan to contain the eurozone debt crisis while ignoring issues on aid and poverty alleviation Photograph: Anne-christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty Images

One of the issues that will be discussed is the financial transaction tax (FTT), also known as the Robin Hood tax. NGOs are urging leaders to introduce a small levy on financial transactions, which they say will raise billions of dollars a year that could be used to tackle poverty. While France and Germany appear keen to introduce an FTT, the UK prime minister, David Cameron, is less enthusiastic. He told parliament on Wednesday that he would only back a tax if it was adopted worldwide, which is unlikely to happen. The US, Canada and Australia do not support an FTT Photograph: Delphine Bedel/Oxfam

Cameron also accused some European countries of supporting the FTT as an "excuse" for not meeting their commitments to spend 0.7% of gross national income on overseas aid Photograph: Ian Langsdon/EPA

Coincidentally, according to the Independent on Thursday, a poll commissioned by Downing Street shows that support for overseas aid among the British public is growing. The survey found that voters believed Britain should be spending at least 7% on aid, rather than 0.7% Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

A man rides a bicycle in front of a vehicle with images of Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, with messages that read ‘I'm hungry’. Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates will be presenting a report on the FTT to G20 leaders on Thursday. In the report, which was commissioned by the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, Gates says an extra $48bn (£30bn) a year could be raised to fight global poverty by levying a small tax on share and bond trading Photograph: Eric Gaillard/Reuters

A banner in Nice, which reads: "G20: I'm hungry". NGOs are urging G20 leaders to back Gates's report. Tearfund’s director of advocacy, Paul Cook, said: ‘In the past the Robin Hood tax has been accused of being economically naive. We hope this endorsement from one of the world’s richest men will cause the doubters to rethink’ Photograph: Ian Langsdon/EPA

Meanwhile, Brendan Cox, children's director of policy at Save the Children, said Gates's report ‘marks the first time the G20 will address development finance comprehensively’. He added: ‘The report sets out a series of realistic and affordable actions that over time could save millions of children’s lives. All G20 leaders must commit to putting in place its recommendations and to review their progress when they meet next in Mexico’ Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

British actor Bill Nighy, seated on the bed, is surrounded by activists and nurses during a protest by global unions against the G20 summit. Nighy, in Cannes for the summit, has been a staunch advocate of an FTT Photograph: Michel Spingler/AP

Samuel Worthington, president of InterAction, an alliance of US-based NGOs, said: 'The fact that it takes a report from Bill Gates to get development back on the agenda speaks volumes about how the G20 needs to shift its focus in the future from not only being in crisis mode but towards building a more inclusive, sustainable global economy' Photograph: Delphine Bedel/Oxfam France