France's Hollande: euro zone needs to defend its currency

French President Francois Hollande said on Tuesday that the euro currency zone must develop an exchange rate policy to protect the currency from "irrational movements".

"Europe... is leaving the euro vulnerable to irrational movements in one direction or the other," he said in his first speech as president to the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

"A monetary zone must have an exchange rate policy or else it ends up subjected to an exchange rate that does not match the true state of its economy."

(Reporting By Mark John; Editing by Nick Vinocur)