“I will not let myself be intimidated”: exchange of arms between the governor of the Bank of France and Jean-Luc Mélenchon

Accused of “high treason” by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the governor of the Bank of France promises that he “will not allow himself to be intimidated”. On France Inter, this Wednesday, Emmanuel Moulin responded to criticism from the LFI presidential candidate, who had affirmed, the day before, that the representative of the institution was “implicitly calling on speculators to sanction France”. An analysis strongly contested by the governor.

On Tuesday, Jean-Luc Mélenchon wrote on “Until now, I only knew of one country where people were trying to intimidate the central banker, and that was Trump’s America with Jay Powell. Donald Trump threatened Jay Powell to silence him,” the governor retorted. And to affirm: “I will not let myself be intimidated, I will continue to say what I think within the framework of my mandate in the institution that I preside over. […] I was appointed for 6 years, I am independent, I will continue to pursue my mission,” Emmanuel Moulin then warned.

The response from the far-left tribune was quick. On “I ask him where else in the world the president appoints a friend from his technical team as head of the central bank? And where else in the world does the central banker elected by anyone give his political opinions on the management of his country? Where does the central banker fuel the speculative desire against his country? Where can the central banker believe that the law does not apply to him as to any citizen regarding treason?” he wrote.

On Wednesday, the governor recalled that the situation has been “complicated since the summer”, in a context marked by rising interest rates in all developed countries, the persistence of the conflict in the Middle East and fears about inflation. “The situation is serious, but we can act by voting a budget which does not exceed a deficit of 5%,” he continued. Voting a budget by the end of the year is, according to him, the “first act […] very important”, “to reassure the markets as well as the French”.

“The government has proposed a budget with a 5% deficit, it is not very ambitious but it is realistic. This is really the upper limit of the deficit that we must accept for 2027,” said the governor of the Bank of France, while the slippage in 2026 is “essentially linked, according to him, to the decline in growth.” On this subject, “everyone must take responsibility”.

Because if parliamentarians do not reach an agreement on the budget, the first risk would be that France “dedicates more and more tax revenue to paying for the debt”, to the point that the country can no longer “finance other priorities” such as Education or Defense, points out Emmanuel Moulin. The increase in rates would also have significant consequences for business rates and individuals. “Today, they remain at reasonable rates, at 3.30%, but it could increase sharply,” he still fears.