- 12 minutes ago
'I'm not a candidate': Lagarde tells Euronews as French election speculation grows
Lagarde told Euronews that she is not "a candidate", while vowing to continue championing European ideals. Speculation that she could leave the ECB early to play an active role in the campaign is rife in Brussels and Paris.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/07/09/im-not-a-candidate-lagarde-tells-euronews-as-french-election-speculation-grows
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
Lagarde told Euronews that she is not "a candidate", while vowing to continue championing European ideals. Speculation that she could leave the ECB early to play an active role in the campaign is rife in Brussels and Paris.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/07/09/im-not-a-candidate-lagarde-tells-euronews-as-french-election-speculation-grows
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
Category
đź—ž
NewsTranscript
00:08President Lagarde, thank you so much for joining us on Euronews at this very pivotal time for
00:12Europe. This is a transformational moment in so many ways. When you look at the economy,
00:17the geopolitics, a war that is still going on in this continent, and then of course many other
00:21forces like the AI, which could have severe implications in the way that we live, that we
00:26work. Ultimately, when you put all these factors together, where is this continent going?
00:30It's navigating all those changes, and it's doing it with, I think, an agenda of significant reforms
00:39that have to be implemented, with a roadmap which has been designed a couple of years ago now by
00:45my predecessor Mario Draghi and Enrico Leta, and where we just have to implement collectively what
00:52will make Europe more competitive and more fit for the 21st century, which is, as you said,
00:57fragmented, different geopolitically, and obviously to be transformed significantly by artificial
01:03intelligence on steroids.
01:05What do you mean by on steroids?
01:07I think that artificial intelligence is going through accelerated phases of development.
01:13So people will talk to you about Gen AI. They will now talk about ASI, superintelligence,
01:20and I think that we all have to adapt to it, but we also have to be mindful of the
01:26goods and the
01:26bads. By good, I mean improved productivity. By bad, what will be the consequences on us as a society,
01:33on the labor market in general? What impact will it have? And we have to prepare for that.
01:37On the AI, it very much reflects the conversation about the geopolitics. Many would say this is now a
01:41two-track competition, as the United States and China. The EU will not be able to compete at that
01:46level. Is that a fair assessment? And I wonder, certainly in this town of Brussels, there's a lot
01:51of hype around Mistral. This is almost seen as a strategic asset. Is it wise to bet everything on
01:56a single company or do we need an ecosystem around AI?
01:59There are two very big champions in terms of AI development and hyperscalers, the United States and
02:06China. There are countries in the European Union which are regarded as third and in the race. I think
02:14the question is how you define the race and how you make sure that you are not held hostage to
02:20certain
02:20developments that are critical and that you have some leverage on elements of the supply chain.
02:28Mistral is obviously a champion in its own way. And I think that if the Europeans decide that it's in
02:35their
02:35collective interest to focus on Mistral, for instance, but maybe a couple of others because you don't want to have
02:41just plan A and nothing else, but that you focus on having sovereignty over developments so that you can
02:48make sure that your clouds, for instance, is possibly of a European standing nature and sitting, that some of
02:56your artificial intelligence devices, some of the tools, for instance, are critically made in Europe,
03:02invented in Europe. You bind all these components and you then have a good dialogue with those who are ahead
03:10of
03:10you in other areas. But I think it's a question of really linking, binding and making sure that we protect
03:17some of our
03:17interests and leverage those in order to better negotiate.
03:21And my impression is that you don't like to lose and you want Europe to win. So what is the
03:25recipe when you talk to finance ministers in Brussels?
03:28And I wonder, you mentioned Maria Draghi, I wonder if you speak frequently, if there's a regular communication with him,
03:33what is the recipe that you put on the table?
03:35I think we share the same objective, that Europe wins, that Europe is competitive, that Europe leverage its incredible potential,
03:43the market, the talent, the capital, the savings. And I think that, you know, if I had two words for
03:50the finance ministers,
03:52whom I love and I was one of them, it's action more than words and it's accelerate more than procrastinate.
04:02Do you have to do that at 27 or can you do it at 6? As a head of the
04:05European Central Bank, I presume you would like to maintain unity at all levels.
04:09That is what guides Europe. But should that change now?
04:12We all need to move together. That's the strength. We are stronger all together.
04:17Now, if it takes a smaller number of them to actually move forward and bring the others with them a
04:24little later,
04:24because they will have experimented, so be it. It's, you know, it's a principle that can be adopted, that is
04:30anticipated by the treaty as well.
04:33So why not?
04:34So move ahead. And to that extent, the Spanish, just this week, they presented a plan before the Euro group
04:39of joint poverty.
04:40The idea of joint debt is very political in essence in Europe, but just on the economic merit of it.
04:46They say it will create a more liquid market, it will save money, and it will be more efficient.
04:52Just on economic terms, is that something that is ahead of the European Central Bank? You say, let's look at
04:57it.
04:57You know, it's more than just economic terms. It's also financial terms.
05:00Because to have a strong, vibrant and deep capital market, which is something that we all want, at least everybody
05:07says so.
05:08We need to also have, we need to, well, I think everybody sings from the same Heim song, but when
05:15it comes to implementing it, it's difficult and the devil is in the details.
05:19But it's pretty obvious that we also need to have a European asset, which can, you know, parallel with the
05:26U.S. Treasury bonds, for instance.
05:28How we go about it, how the moral hazard is addressed, how it's allocated in terms of results to be
05:35decided.
05:36And I think it's great that a country like Spain, for instance, makes a proposal, puts it on the table
05:41for debate.
05:42And it's now for the others to say, okay, we like this part, we don't like this, we can address
05:46it.
05:47So it's good to actually move forward.
05:49So when you hear these numbers, 800 billion euros, Mario Draghi echoed that, the Spanish seemed to be putting that
05:54on the table.
05:55The French president has said in his view, there are no taboos that doesn't scare you when you hear 800
05:59billion euros, this kind of money.
06:01Look, remember, remember what we did for COVID.
06:04That was the amount that was actually put on the table for joint borrowing in order to respond and to
06:09produce the recovery.
06:11And what was it?
06:13RRF, the recovery resilience.
06:15Yeah, recovery and resilience fund.
06:17That was roughly the amount.
06:19And the commission went to market.
06:21We helped in the process because we act as an agent in that respect.
06:25And it was widely, you know, broadly subscribed, oversubscribed.
06:29So I'm not saying that this is the amount.
06:32I'm just saying that to go with the capital market, you need depth, you need liquidity, and you need to
06:39entice the savings of Europe onto that market.
06:43But we need an instrument as well.
06:45And that could be one or an elaboration or an iteration of that.
06:52And what's it going to take to convince countries that would say absolutely not, because by the same token, we
06:57said the recovery fund legally was a one off.
07:00Yeah, that was said in certain circumstances.
07:04I think the circumstances have changed and it should lead the leaders of the various member states to consider and
07:12to address what are their concerns.
07:14So I think an ex ante no over my dead body is not the best way to deal with it.
07:20I think the best way to deal with it is to try to analyze what is too much of a
07:24risk and how that risk can be addressed.
07:27And the world has changed because of Vladimir Putin, because of President Trump.
07:32And we've heard the criticism that Europeans are weak, they're decaying, civilizational erasure.
07:36They say we are facing that prospect of Europe becoming a museum or is it also the Chinese?
07:41Is this a combination that has changed Europe now in the medium term?
07:45We've got to wake up.
07:46You know, first of all, there is nothing wrong with European culture.
07:49And whether it is tourism, whether it is museum, whether it is attracting people to a place which has a
07:55vibrant culture is wonderful.
07:56There's a movement that says museum and the Europe pours.
07:59Well, I will tell you something.
08:00Is that the algorithm I wonder?
08:01I'll tell you something.
08:02If you visit a few industrial entrepreneurial centers, including in the field of artificial intelligence, including in the field of
08:11high techs, you would be surprised that this is not a museum.
08:15This is a very, very active and rich with talent economy.
08:21But the key thing is to make sure that money goes in the right direction.
08:25Money should not necessarily leave Europe.
08:28It should stay in Europe to finance initiatives.
08:30And ultimately, what is the biggest driving force?
08:33Is it President Trump?
08:34It seems to me when I look at NATO on the G7, the Europeans have now decided we are not
08:39going to publicize a divorce, but we understand the relationship is changing and we've got to do our own thing.
08:44And when it comes to China, is that also pushing these changes?
08:47No, there's a lot of criticism around concerning fragmentation and the change in the geopolitics.
08:52But if anything, it has certainly led the Europeans to look at their own forces, to look at their own
08:57weaknesses and try to address them.
08:59So I think that rather than criticizing the rest of the world or putting the blame on one or the
09:05other leaders, I think we have to really focus on us, see what strength we have and we have a
09:10lot of those, leverage them and try to address the weaknesses.
09:14I think there are some low hanging fruit.
09:17The capital market is one that is not such an easy one, but there are components that are low hanging
09:22fruits.
09:22And I'm delighted to see that both the commission and the Irish presidency want to move further and faster on
09:28this front.
09:29And we've seen that this week with the digital euro.
09:32Yes.
09:33And I have to ask, it may seem a trivial question, but what is the digital euro?
09:37Because on this stance in Brussels, I've heard MEPs who say this is a way to kill cash and the
09:43head of the European Central Bank wants to control our every move.
09:46Oh, my gosh.
09:47What's the digital euro?
09:48Absolutely not.
09:49Let me first, you know, celebrate the fact that the parliament has endorsed massively the mandate for this tree log
09:57discussion that will take place and hopefully will be concluded by December.
10:00But let me go back to that.
10:03This piece of legislation will actually produce two results.
10:07The first one is that it will make cash and the digital euro both legal tender, which means that nowhere
10:17in Europe can anybody say to anyone, sorry, I'm not taking your bank notes.
10:22I'm not taking your European coins because now it has legal tender.
10:26It has to be honored.
10:28So cash is actually elevated to this legal tender level when nobody anywhere in Europe can say I'm not taking
10:35your money because it is bank notes.
10:37No.
10:37So bank notes are secured and protected.
10:39And by the way, before the end of this year, in December 26, we will have a set of proposals
10:46that will be the new design and the new face of our bank notes so that there is a close
10:51link between you, me and the bank notes.
10:54So that's on the bank notes.
10:55So no, cash will not go away.
10:57Cash will be rejuvenated.
10:59Digital euro, we need to move into a digital world.
11:03You book your trips using digital.
11:06You buy your transportation tickets using digital.
11:10You buy by digital means whether you do your grocery shopping or whether you buy your clothes.
11:15We need to have also central bank money.
11:19For the moment, it's only bank notes, but we need to have it in digital form.
11:23And if it is cheaper, if it is faster, and if you can use it throughout Europe, even the better.
11:28And the overall question, however, is how is that going to serve the euro's competitiveness?
11:33Because there is a real competition now for who will be and who will run currencies in the future.
11:38Is it still a dollar story?
11:40Dollar is king.
11:41You also see the Chinese heavily pushing for their own currency.
11:44The best thing I know is a European solution.
11:47At the moment, we do not have that.
11:50So if you pay, in most instances, 60% of the cases, you use payment infrastructure that is under foreign
11:58capital.
11:59So we depend on predominantly US, but also sometimes China networks to organize payments.
12:06We need to have a European solution because we want to be sovereign at home.
12:11So that's what the digital euro will do because you will have digital euro for retail when you go to
12:16the shop,
12:16when you buy with a friend, when you want to share a bill.
12:19But we will also have what we call wholesale digital euro, which will enable the banks to organize their transaction
12:27in digital form as well.
12:28And some expected because of the major changes coming out of the US that we would see sort of move
12:34away from the dollar and that the euro could benefit from it.
12:36The numbers a year later, they show minimal pickup.
12:39It should have been, some would argue, a much stronger effect to cash in those inflows.
12:44Is this a root of concern that even with this uncertainty, the euro was not able to capitalize on it?
12:51Or would you say, look, this is a 20 year story. I can promise you in 20 years that share
12:55will be much higher.
12:56I would never promise anything because there is so much uncertainty and those those movements take time.
13:02What we have seen in history, when the sterling pound, you know, was gradually replaced by the US dollar, it
13:09took that long, if not a bit more.
13:11So what I'm saying today is that the euro is a solid currency. 25 years ago, soon 30 years ago,
13:19people were saying, ah, it's dead on arrival.
13:22It's not dead on arrival. It is solid and strong. Absolutely. Absolutely. So it is solid and strong.
13:27The European Central Bank is well established, credible and highly respected. The monetary union is a force, but it is
13:36not enough.
13:36We have to go beyond that. We have to be credible from a security point of view. We have to
13:41be solid from an economic point of view with lots of trade agreements.
13:45This is in process. And we have to make sure that our institutions are solid and the rule of law
13:51is respected.
13:52But I would contend that the euro has remained stable and slightly increasing in terms of support and attractiveness.
14:00I hear a lot of noises along those lines. And to that extent, I do have to ask you going
14:06back to the question of China.
14:07There is a message that is legitimate, and that is Europeans are saying, what a fair deal. The numbers coming
14:12out of China, when you look at that trade deficit, it's a deficit after a deficit.
14:16They sell a lot more than we do to them. When you look at the trade surplus last year from
14:20the Chinese, it's another record.
14:22There's no indication that they're rebalancing in any way that is fair to Europeans. There's a deadline now in October.
14:28What happens if the Chinese do not respond to that deadline? The easy cop out answer would be, it's not
14:33my business.
14:33This is the business of the trade commissioner. But I know you care about Europe. I care very much about
14:38Europe.
14:39And I care very much about keeping an international trade system in place that is sensible and that is propitious
14:45to the exchanges between nations and between enterprises as well.
14:50So I think we need to have areas that we know are critically important and that we will not let
14:57sort of fade away to any competition, including China, of course.
15:03So you describe the message that a fair deal needs to happen. It's not a fair deal what we have
15:07at this point.
15:08It's a deal that is predominantly organized under WTO. You still have about 75% of trade conducted under WTO
15:16rules.
15:17But as far as China is concerned, there has to be a discussion of adults in the room who are
15:24respecting each other's position and who are going to make sure that it's a good deal on both sides.
15:29The Chinese are very good at talking about it. We actually need to walk the talk and see on a
15:36sectorial basis what it means, you know, see on a pricing basis what it means, see on a grants and
15:43subsidies basis what it means and see on a financing basis what it means.
15:47And will you be monitoring that October deadline? Because some say the Europeans have put themselves in a difficult situation.
15:52If they do not respond, they're going to look weak.
15:54If they respond, there's a chance of have the bare minimum real trade tensions, potentially a trade war.
15:59You know, whenever there is a crisis, a deadline or something really hard, the Europeans are up to it. So
16:04I have full trust that this will happen.
16:06In October? At some point?
16:09Who am I to say that? I'm not in charge of trade negotiations, but I'm sure they will appreciate the
16:14urgency of the matter and the need to find a dialogue that is productive on both sides.
16:20And, President, for Europeans, you've had to increase interest rates. You talked about some of the uncertainty facing the European
16:26economy.
16:27Just for the average European, they see that they're now operating in an environment where interest rates are much higher
16:32than they were used to just a few years ago.
16:35Is this the new normal? No, but look, I think what was not the norm was a time when interest
16:41rates were in negative territory.
16:43It just, you know, it was an anomaly. It's a total anomaly that if I lend you money that you
16:49will only give me back in five years.
16:51In addition to lending you money, I have to give you a bonus on it. You don't pay. This doesn't
16:57make any sense.
16:57I mean, everybody understands that if I lend you money, you only pay me back in five years. You have
17:03to give me a little top up, which is, you know, the term premium and the risk premium eventually.
17:07So interest rates go with the payment of money over time. And if you give money, if you lend money
17:15over time, obviously there is an interest.
17:17So I think we are more in normal time when you have an interest rate. Now interest rates are determined
17:24with the objective that the central bank has, which is to provide price stability.
17:30If you don't have price stability, if you think that prices are going to go up or down, you just
17:35completely confuse as to what you should do, whether you should buy, whether you should sell, whether you should employ,
17:40whether you should find, whether you should invest.
17:42So what our mission is, is price stability. And for that, the big tool, especially when you have inflation rising
17:49its nose, is interest rates.
17:52So we slightly increased interest rates, which are now at 2.25% when we have the latest reading of
17:59inflation at 2.8%.
18:01Not to say that we align with inflation because our goal is medium term. We need to see inflation returning
18:08to 2% in about three years time.
18:11And that's what we have with the projections that we produce.
18:15And on that level of interest rates, which is so key for European consumers, your message is to say, this
18:20is the level that we believe will be the base for the months to come, ultimately.
18:26You have to be okay with this. Understand that this is the level now. Potentially even go higher, depending on
18:33how things go.
18:33We do an assessment at each and every meeting. We meet roughly every six weeks. And we look at all
18:38the fundamentals. We look at the projections that we have.
18:42We look at the estimated inflation in three years, in two years, in one year's time. We look at the
18:48underlying inflation.
18:49What is it without oil and gas? What is it without food? What is it if you take out the
18:54most volatile things? What is it if you take out tobacco and all? We have multiple measurements.
18:59Then we also look at how this is propagated throughout the economy and what it produces ultimately in the medium
19:06term. And it's on the basis of all that that we say we are fine or we should go down
19:10a bit or we should go up a bit.
19:12And, Madame Lagarde, I have to ask you, of course, about France. Just a final question.
19:17France is, Juncker used to say, it's not just any country. France is France. This is a founding member.
19:22And Jean-Claude is Jean-Claude.
19:23And he is, of course, he is. And he also used to say, look, this is a founding member of
19:28the European Union.
19:29It is systemically important when it comes to the Euro area. But beyond that, it's a country that represents a
19:35form of ideals to the world.
19:36It's a republic for its citizens. At this point and this week, we've had now what seems to be now
19:43an idea of who will be able to run or not,
19:46in which conditions crystallize. Le Pen will be a candidate.
19:50And if I look at polls now, there is a real scenario in which the final ticket, the two final
19:55candidates will represent extremes,
19:58certainly in the European Parliament. Jean-Luc MĂ©lenchon is really on the left in the European Parliament.
20:02She is on the Patriots for Europe, a creature created by Viktor Orban to change Europe.
20:06When you look at that final ticket, and it is a possibility, do you say, yes, it is an existential
20:12threat to France,
20:14and therefore it is an existential threat to the stability of the European economy?
20:18You know, I try to look at all member states without diving deep into the politics of anyone.
20:26Of course, as a French, I have my own views. I keep them to myself. But what I very much
20:32hope is that the democratic process will continue.
20:35You know, in politics, the next, you know, eight months is eternity. So, so many things can happen.
20:40We will be monitoring. We will be looking at the risk level. We will be looking at all that carefully.
20:45And we hope that reason will always prevail, and that France will appreciate, whoever is the leader for France, that
20:52it is one key member of Europe,
20:54and that Europe is the only playground within which member states, nations, even France, can actually play a significant role.
21:03On the European voice, some would say that is the anomaly at this stage. There are many, many in Europe
21:08who feel proud of being Europeans.
21:10And no politician at this point seems to be able to tap really into that appetite for a political offer
21:16that really puts that up front.
21:19Are you, do you find that bizarre that in France, no one is occupying that space? And some would argue,
21:25maybe you should occupy it.
21:26Well, I will certainly explain to the extent I can, you know, why the European dimension is so critical.
21:33In a campaign or in your role as the head of the EU?
21:34I will explain that in whichever capacity I will be most efficient.
21:38It's all open for you at this point.
21:40I'm not a candidate for anything, but I'm very keen that Europe is protected, that Europe is the framework within
21:47which member states operate, including France.
21:50Well, President Lagarde, thank you so much for joining us on ERA News.
21:53Thank you very much.
Comments