00:00The Financial Times is reporting that Christine Lagarde is expected to leave the ECB before her eight-year term as
00:05president expires in October next year.
00:07The ECB responded, President Lagarde is totally focused on her mission and has not taken any decision regarding the end
00:14of her term.
00:15This is what President Lagarde told Bloomberg on a recent episode of Leaders with Francine Lacroix.
00:21It was a challenge. It was Europe. I was always under the impression that it was a five-year term.
00:27And I hadn't checked. So having said yes to Macron and Merkel, I said, OK, well, I'll be in Frankfurt
00:35for five years.
00:36And at that point, Macron said no for eight years. But it was too late.
00:44Well, Bloomberg's ECB editor, Jenna Rondau, joins us now for more.
00:50Jana, is she going to go? What are we expecting to see?
00:53There's a bill, we should say, built in some of the reporting that Bloomberg has done in recent weeks.
00:58Yeah, that's an excellent question, and I'm afraid I don't have a detailed answer.
01:03We've heard she said she's not a quitter.
01:06She, in the past, said she will continue to serve her term.
01:11But, of course, all this got kicked off last week when the governor of the Banque de France,
01:16François Villaroy de Gallo, announced that he would leave the institution, the Banque de France,
01:23in June, to work for a charity. And it all had a bit of a flavor.
01:28And, of course, that means French President Emmanuel Macron gets to pick his successor.
01:34And I think some of the same dynamic, the same speculation is underway.
01:38Of course, France has presidential elections.
01:41Next spring, the far right is riding high in the polls, and there is some concern of,
01:48can we entrust the far right in France to have a say in picking the successor to Christine Lagarde.
01:54That is why we are having this discussion right now.
01:58If you read closely between the lines, of course, she says she hasn't thought about, you know, ending her term.
02:05It's not a denial, if you ask me.
02:08It also means she hasn't made up her mind.
02:11So until she does, until she either serves out her term, until the French elections happen,
02:16or until she resigns, this speculation is now going to be with us.
02:20And it'll be very interesting.
02:22And we, of course, will put in some calls in the course of the day.
Comments