The French Parliament approves Macron’s candidate to assume the position of Central Bank Governor

The French Parliament approved President Emmanuel Macron’s nominee to assume the position of governor of the Bank of France, the “central bank”, in a move that spared the president a political setback and dispelled the uncertainty of the European Central Bank while it considers raising interest rates, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.

In a joint vote of the two parliamentary finance committees, 58 deputies out of 110 opposed the appointment of Emmanuel Moulin, less than the 60% required to reject his nomination.

The far-right, far-left and socialists warned that they would seek to thwart the nomination before the vote, in protest against the nomination of the man who has long served as Secretary-General of the French presidency to hold a powerful position that will extend for years after the president himself leaves office in 2027.

The results indicate that the centrists and conservatives more inclined to Macron appeared to avoid what would have been a harsh rebuke of the president.

However, opposition to Moulin’s nomination has highlighted debates over the independence of the central bank and the process of selecting officials who set monetary policy for the 21-nation euro zone.