In his New Year’s Day address this year, president Jacques Chirac talked about the “grandeur de l’état français”. It’s a concept the French worry about a lot: they are determined to hang onto their position in the world.
That determination shows itself most clearly in the success the French have had in winning influence in international financial organizations. Three of the IMF’s last four managing directors have been French. Jean-Claude Paye runs the OECD. And, at the EBRD, the disastrous Jacques Attali (who left in disgrace after his lavish spending was revealed), was replaced by another Frenchman, Jacques de Larosière.
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