"No Political Motivation": Bank of France Governor Says Christine Lagarde Is Leaving the ECB for Career Reasons, Not a Presidential Plot

What will be Christine Lagarde's next position? Since the announcement of his early departure from the European Central Bank (ECB), the question has agitated European economic and political circles. At 70, the Frenchwoman is preparing to leave an institution that she has led since November 2019, while her eight-year mandate was normally due to end in October 2027.

A decision which would not be dictated by any political consideration, according to Emmanuel Moulin, governor of the Bank of France and member of the Governing Council of the ECB. Questioned this Monday, November 2 during a conference organized in Barcelona, ​​he assured that Christine Lagarde simply wanted to open a new professional chapter. “This decision is not motivated by political reasons,” he said in comments relayed by Bloomberg.

“This is a personal choice to move on to a new stage in his career.” The timing of this departure nonetheless remains particularly sensitive. Christine Lagarde will leave office in February 2027, a few months before the presidential election in France.

This departure will therefore allow Emmanuel Macron to participate in the designation of the next president of the ECB, rather than leaving this decision to his successor at the Élysée. The choice of the President of the ECB rests with the heads of state and government of the euro zone countries, on the recommendation of the Council of the European Union and after consultation of the European Parliament and the Governing Council of the central bank. “This should also allow heads of state and government to make the right decisions to have an ECB that functions, is solid, credible and independent,” declared Emmanuel Moulin.

Freedom of speech The departure of Christine Lagarde is part of a much broader renewal of the management of the central bank. Two other members of its board of directors are also due to leave their positions in the coming months. Isabel Schnabel, responsible in particular for market operations, should leave in January to join the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Philip Lane, chief economist of the ECB and one of the main architects of its monetary policy, will reach the end of his mandate in May. The rest of Christine Lagarde's career remains unknown. Last Thursday, she explained that she wanted to regain freedom of speech incompatible with the obligations of reserve and neutrality that accompany her current functions.

Enough to fuel questions about a possible political reconversion. Her name has notably circulated in discussions around the 2027 French presidential election, even if the person concerned has already denied wanting to succeed Emmanuel Macron. Another hypothesis comes up regularly: that of taking office as president of the World Economic Forum, the organization based in Geneva which organizes the Davos meeting each year, bringing together political leaders, big bosses and economic leaders.

Machine-translated from French