Despite a concerted effort to torpedo Emmanuel Moulin’s candidacy, Macron’s opponents failed to reach the threshold for a successful veto.
PARIS ― French President Emmanuel Macron’s pick to lead the Bank of France, Emmanuel Moulin, was confirmed by lawmakers Wednesday despite a concerted effort to torpedo his candidacy.
Moulin will replace François Villeroy de Galhau, who in February announced he would leave the job with more than a year left on his mandate. The move fueled speculation that Macron was taking control of a process that should have been the prerogative of France’s next president. Villeroy said his choice had nothing to do with politics.
Macron’s decision to propose his former chief of staff for the job did little to quiet such rumblings. U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive push for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates has fueled worldwide concern over the independence of central banks. Trump’s pick to lead the Fed, Kevin Warsh, was confirmed last week by a largely partisan Senate vote.
Moulin told lawmakers at a confrontational but respectful hearing before his confirmation that he would respect the bank’s independence as its governor and insisted he was well-qualified for the job.
“I am confident that I could independently lead an institution that is proud of its history and focused on the future, dedicated to a reliable currency and a strong, stable and sustainable economy,” Moulin said.
Moulin spent years working at the French Ministry of Economy and Finance, serving as deputy chief of staff to current European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde when she was minister, and as chief of staff to Bruno Le Maire, one of her successors.
Moulin’s critics, however, had deemed him too close to Macron to be considered sufficiently independent. Some lawmakers planned to vote against the 57-year-old as a way to punish Macron for a recent controversial slate of appointments that appear to either be political patronage or an attempt to retain power after the 2027 presidential election.
Jean-Philippe Tanguy, a top-ranking lawmaker from the far-right National Rally, also saw Moulin as partly responsible for the perilous state of French finances given his high-level roles during Macron’s years in office.
“You are the embodiment of the deep state,” Tanguy said.
Moulin responded by thanking Tanguy “for his kind speech.”