French balance with a strong finish

International Economy, The, Spring, 2004

The old saying is that if something is conventional wisdom, watch out: conventional wisdom is almost always wrong, That appears to be the case with incoming Bank of France Governor Christian Noyer. The assumption has been that the former finance official would be an automatic "dove" in all discussions relating to monetary policy.

But European Central Bank insiders say that has not necessarily been the case. Noyer's approach is said to be surprisingly balanced and at times quite tough on monetary issues as well as on the governments' handling of fiscal policy.