The Japan Times - Opposition backlash as Macron's choice gets nod for central bank

Macron critics say the centrist head of state is seeking to install allies in top positions before his second and final five-year term ends next year.

Marine Le Pen's far-right, anti-immigration party is gearing up for what it considers its strongest opportunity yet to take power in France's 2027 presidential election.

Macron's choice for central bank governor, Emmanuel Moulin, faced a crunch appearance Wednesday before the finance committees of parliament's two chambers, the National Assembly and the Senate.

Their objection would have blocked his appointment. But they did not oppose his candidacy, parliamentary sources told AFP.

Moulin had faced questions about his ability to act independently.

Lawmakers in the lower house voted overwhelmingly against him, but enough Senators backed his appointment for it to be approved.

An influential policy maker, Moulin, 57, has held a series of top posts in finance and the presidency.

He served as secretary general of the presidency for a year, and was before that chief of staff to centrist Gabriel Attal during his brief stint as prime minister, in 2024.

Moulin served as director general of the French Treasury between 2020 and 2024, overseeing economic policy and public debt.

The Banque de France contributes to defining monetary policy in the eurozone and plays a key role in financial regulation. The institution was founded by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1800 to promote economic recovery after the French Revolution.

Moulin is to take over as central bank chief from Francois Villeroy de Galhau, who has said he will step down in June, a year and a half ahead of the end of his six-year term.

Moulin is due to remain in the post for the stretch of the next president's mandate.

- 'Anti-democratic record' -

Speaking in parliament earlier Wednesday, Moulin said he had served France for 30 years and would ensure independence at the central bank.

"The diversity of my career and the variety of roles I have held provide me with valuable experience for the role of governor of the Banque de France," he said.

"I have never relinquished my convictions, my freedom of thought or my independence."

Macron has already appointed another loyalist, Richard Ferrand, to head the country's highest constitutional authority.

Former public accounts minister Amelie de Montchalin in February became the country's top auditor, after criticism she could not critique a budget that she was involved in drafting.

Jean-Philippe Tanguy, a lawmaker from Le Pen's National Rally party, called Moulin's appointment a "farce".

"Mr Macron is placing his cronies to cover up the bankruptcy of the system," he said on X.

Eric Coquerel, the hard-left head of the finance committee in the lower house, said the fact that most lawmakers had voted against Moulin's nomination was a "snub" to Macron.

"It's so obvious that we are witnessing a locking down of the Republic's most important institutions, once Mr Macron leaves the Elysee (presidential palace), that this alone is a blow to democracy," he told reporters.

He said the president was leaving "quite a significant, I would say, anti-democratic record".

Y.Ishikawa--JT