France
Arhar says Slovenia not ready for euro
Slovenia is not sufficiently prepared to enter the Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM II), France Arhar, chairman of the Slovene branch of Bank Austria Creditanstalt, told the weekly Mag, saying that the country is experiencing unusual circumstances in long…
Trichet shown red card for speaking English
French deputies walked out of the Council of Europe's parliamentary assembly on Monday 21 June when ECB chief Jean-Claude Trichet began addressing a meeting in English, according to Reuters.
France's Noyer on indexed bonds, inflation
In a speech on 'The role of inflation - indexed bonds in the process of setting monetary policy: a central banker's perspective' given on 9 June, Christian Noyer of the Bank of France said central banks have to make use of the widest possible set of…
Bank of France urges reform to meet deficit limit
Bank of France governor Christian Noyer on Thursday 10 June called on the French government for measures to bring the country's budget deficit below three percent of output by 2005.
UK, France and Germany to co-ordinate econ policy
In an interview with French daily Le Figaro, French finance minister Nicolas Sarkozy has said that France, Germany and the UK are ready to include common measures in their national budgets to become more co-ordinated economically.
Sarkozy pledges to cut in deficit, sell reserves
French Finance Minister Nicolas Sarkozy has promised to bring the country's deficit under control and also proposed to sell some of the gold held at the Bank of France.
Noyer says France open to gold sale
Bank of France governor Christian Noyer said in an interview published on Wednesday 14 April that he was open to selling some of France's gold but that the receipts would not go directly to the state.
France 'just thinking' about gold sales
The French finance ministry said on Tuesday 13 April that it was just thinking about using some of the country's gold for future investments or to reduce debt, after press reports said talks could begin this week with the Bank of France.
France supporting EBRD's Lemierre for IMF
Paris and Berlin agreed Monday that a decision should be made quickly on naming a new head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and that, as in the past, the person should be a European. A press report earlier said France would propose Jean Lemierre…
France may opt to use gold to fund research
The French government is looking at the possibility of using its gold reserves to finance research, with a ministerial source quoted as saying that while the gold is managed by the central bank it belongs to France.
ECB's Noyer sees upturn in French economy
Bank of France governor Christian Noyer was quoted on Thursday 11 March as saying he had hopes that French growth could accelerate despite the strength of the euro.
EU need 'unchallengeable' choice for IMF, says Mer
Francis Mer has said that the EU should agree on an "unchallengeable" contender as Horst Koehler's replacement at the IMF, to avoid a repeat of the squabbling over its previous nomination.
Reynders says ECB may have room for manoeuvre
Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders has said that it is up to the European Central Bank to stimulate Europe's sluggish economic recovery, because widening budget deficits prevent governments from boosting spending.
Bank of France unions call for worker walk-out
Six unions representing employees at Banque de France, the French central bank (CFDT, CGT, FO, CFTC, SIC and SNA), called staff out on a one-hour work stoppage on Tuesday 24 February.
Raffarin says ECB should react to euro rise
Speaking on Thursday 26 February, French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said he shared Gerhard Schroeder's views that the ECB should think about varying eurozone interest rates given the euro's strong rise against the dollar.
France's Noyer reassures over 'very stable' euro
Bank of France governor Christian Noyer played down the rise of the euro on Wednesday 25 February, saying the rate was "very stable" and that the exchange rate was not far from the launch rate of the euro in 1999.
Trichet nose his skiing
Attending a summit in London this week ECB boss Jean-Claude Trichet stood out from the crowd with what was described as a large plaster on his nose.
French minister calls on ECB to tackle FX
French Industry Minister Nicole Fontaine called on the ECB on Thursday 22 January to "seriously address" the problem of currency market instability.
Bank of France's Noyer cautions on euro volatility
Christian Noyer the new governor of the Bank of France warned on Wednesday that "excess" currency volatility was not good for economic growth, and that European monetary authorities needed to promote stability.
France and Italy lead charge for EU pact change
French Finance Minister Francis Mer said Wednesday the EU should consider revising the stability and growth pact in 2005, Reuters said. While Italian Treasury undersecretary Gianluigi Magri commented "Pact 1 is finished with. We need to change the…
EU bends budget rules for Germany, France
A proposal to suspend the sanctions mechanism of the stability and growth pact for France and Germany was agreed on Tuesday 25 November by eurozone finance ministers, acording to Reuters. A declaration by the Ecofin council, meeting in Brussels, agreed…
Trichet warns EU over budget deficits
Jean-Claude Trichet issued a stern warning on 6 November to both eurozone governments and the EU Commission in Brussels that meddling with the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact would put the overall credibility of monetary union and economic…
France's Noyer on banknotes' stretch
Christian Noyer has answered the question that was on everyone's lips: Just how far would the 15bn euro banknotes stretch if laid end-to-end?
Chirac nominates Noyer as Bank of France president
French President Jacques Chirac nominated Christian Noyer on Wednesday 22 october as Jean-Claude Trichet's successor at the Bank of France, the Financial Times reports. Noyer, 53, is a former deputy governor of the European Central Bank.