The first service we provide, which is very important, is to defend the quality of the currency, which is the euro, and to protect it against inflation. I believe we've done a pretty good job on that.
You're leaving in a month. Does that allow you to speak more freely?
Well, I believe I've always spoken freely because one of the characteristics of the Bank of France and its governor is independence. We are appointed through democratic procedures, which is normal. I was appointed by a president of the Republic, François Hollande, reappointed by Emmanuel Macron, and elected by Parliament afterwards. But what's important is that we cannot receive instructions from politicians, nor from any private interests. So we speak based on our expertise, and also so that the entire public debate benefits from it. That's the spirit of the letter to the President of the Republic that we discussed earlier.
You just came from... we'll talk about it later too. All the finance ministers and central bank governors of the G7 met in Paris. You just arrived from an important meeting chaired by France. It's not every day that the world's finance chiefs are in the same room. In a few words, what was the mood today? And what is the biggest global economic issue right now?
Well, I believe the economic situation is difficult. We don't know how to tell the story, and it's even more difficult since the conflict in the Middle East began at the end of February, because oil prices have risen, the Strait of Hormuz is blocked, and that means in all our economies, particularly in Europe, more inflation and less growth. So that's bad news.
What was the mood of all your colleagues?
Well, I think everyone was quite determined, we didn't tell ourselves stories. At the same time, I think it was rather good. There was a fairly free exchange. I'll take the example of the Americans. We don't always agree with them, to put it mildly. But we can talk to them. So, if I have to summarize this G7, we don't agree on everything. I'll take the example of the tariffs the Americans apply to us, which we find completely unjustified. We don't agree on everything, but we can talk about everything.
So earlier you were with Scott Bessent. Can you talk to him? Does he react? Is he constructive?
Yes, he's a human being, but he's the finance minister first and foremost. So it was Bruno Le Maire, the French finance minister, who spoke with him mainly. And I was with my colleagues, the governors of the six other countries, and with Christine Lagarde, whom we saw in the photo, for the European Central Bank. To give you an example, we stated clearly that we would protect against the inflation shock we're facing. Prices will rise a bit because of oil prices. The French know this well, but we are committed to bringing inflation back towards 2%, which is our target, very quickly.
Do we know him too well? Is he Trumpist in his style, or does he try to minimize things?
Well, you should invite him to Quotidien. But does he realize he's causing a bit of chaos around the world with Donald Trump or not? Listen, we think what we think of Donald Trump. I'm not going to make big comments. But I'll put it another way: he hasn't helped Europe much, especially with his tariffs, the 15%. It was supposed to penalize China, apparently, but along the way, he penalized a whole series of other countries that are rather his allies. Japan was there, the United Kingdom, the European Union. All that world was penalized. But if he has perhaps one virtue, because our destiny doesn't depend entirely on Donald Trump, if he has a virtue, it's pushing us Europeans to wake up. We have plenty of resources. It's starting. You know, less than two years ago there was what was called the Draghi report. Draghi, we also saw him in a photo. He's Christine Lagarde's predecessor, a former Italian prime minister, and he said, 'Listen, Europe, you're falling behind on growth, on innovation.' What I was saying earlier, you need to take back control, you need to wake up, it depends on you. Now, when we look today, about 40% of the Draghi report's recommendations have been completely or partially implemented. 40%, that's not enough, we need to accelerate. But Trump, he serves as a good accelerator.
Can we come back to the Strait of Hormuz? If it doesn't open soon, what impact for the global economy?
So on the Strait of Hormuz, and then we'll talk about gold, but on the Strait of Hormuz, if it doesn't open in the next few weeks, you're right, it's really a question of duration. That is to say, we know it will cause, as I said, bad news: more inflation, less growth. But the scale depends on how long the blockade of Hormuz lasts. That's why we, the Bank of France, presented in mid-March three different scenarios. So we can hope the blockade is lifted as soon as possible. But now, I'll go a bit beyond that because you remember, we had the invasion of Ukraine and already an oil shock four years ago, when gasoline prices rose. Today, we have the Strait of Hormuz. I believe we need to get out of this dependence on oil, the Middle East, etc. The real good way, as we say around the G7 table, is to accelerate the energy transition, to move away from fossil fuels. As I'm probably the oldest around the table, I lived through the oil shocks of the 70s. At the time, France's good answer was nuclear power. It helps us today. It's part of France's advantages. We are more decarbonized than others. We are a bit less dependent on oil, but we need to accelerate on nuclear power, on energies. And it has the advantage of supporting the climate transition.
Are all G7 countries in agreement on the transition?
Well, there are countries... not the one you mentioned earlier, the big country on the other side of the Atlantic. All European countries are in agreement. Yes, that's very important. And I believe all countries that are not producing in this direction... everyone says we're already losing to China, that the electrification of the economy has failed. I believe we shouldn't give up. We were talking earlier about the feeling of decline. I see Europe's assets. We have a lot of savings available. We have a large European market, and we have a lot of talent. Europeans, including young Europeans, are sought after all over the world. Well, let's use these strengths for ourselves. There's perhaps a lesson we can learn from the Americans, which is self-confidence. Because the Americans, they go for it, and we Europeans, we tend to, the French in particular, we tend to first see what's wrong. Well, let's try to see what we can do. It's our charm, perhaps, but let's try to keep the French charm. It's a magnificent country, but let's put a bit of will and ambition into it. I believe in the future of my country.
The style of François Villeroy de Galhau, in two words, what is it? That I've known for over 26 years, more than 30 years. What struck me when we met, he was chief of staff to the minister, I was a young advisor. First, it's the intellectual machine. There are many at the top of the state, but there are few where, whatever the file you give him, its complexity, the subject, when it comes out, you understand what it's about. You understand the constant, and you have the pedagogical side.
Several options, and you have the pedagogical side.
