Parliament Validates Emmanuel Moulin as Governor of the Banque de France

Overview

• Parliamentary finance commissioners did not block the nomination on May 20, 2026, with a secret vote of 58 against and 52 for, short of the three‑fifths threshold required to reject the appointment.
• Emmanuel Moulin told senators and deputies he would serve “en homme libre” and pledged to exercise his duties with full independence during back‑to‑back auditions on the day of the vote.
• The Socialist Party, La France Insoumise and the Rassemblement National all publicly voted against Moulin, saying his long career in executive cabinets undermines the political independence expected of a central bank governor.
• Support from Les Républicains and centrist senators proved decisive, and reports of a trade-off offering the Défenseur des droits post to an LR senator remain unconfirmed and disputed by party leaders.
• Moulin will succeed François Villeroy de Galhau, who leaves in early June, and critics say this nomination follows a string of late‑term appointments that could erode public trust in institutional independence and affect France’s role in euro‑area policy.