Opinion of the European Central Bank of 24 September 2009 on the nomination procedure for the Governor of the Banque de France (CON/2009/74)
Date: 2009-09-24
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: France, central bank, head of State, national law, power to appoint

EN 

OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 

of 24 September 2009  

on the nomination procedure for the Governor of the Banque de France  

(CON/2009/74) 

Introduction and legal basis 

On 18 September 2009 the European Central Bank (ECB) received a request from the French Ministry for 

Economic Affairs, Industry and Employment for an opinion on a draft organic law and a draft law on the 

application of Article 13, fifth paragraph, of the French Constitution (hereinafter, respectively, the ‘draft 

organic law’ and the ‘draft law’). 

The  ECB’s  competence  to  deliver  an  opinion  is  based  on  Article  105(4)  of  the  Treaty  establishing  the 

European Community and the third indent of Article 2(1) of Council Decision 98/415/EC of 29 June 1998 

on  the  consultation  of  the  European  Central  Bank  by  national  authorities  regarding  draft  legislative 
provisions1, as the draft organic law and the draft law relate to the Banque de France. In accordance with 

the first sentence of Article 17.5 of the Rules of Procedure of the European Central Bank, the Governing 

Council has adopted this opinion. 

1. 

Purpose of the draft organic law and of the draft law 

1.1  The  draft  organic  law  and  the  draft  law  aim  at  implementing  Article  13,  fifth  paragraph,  of  the 
French  Constitution  as  amended  by  the  Constitutional  Law  of  23  July  20082.  Article  13,  fifth 

paragraph,  of  the  French  Constitution  provides  that,  for  positions  or  functions  of  particular 

importance  in  guaranteeing  rights  and  freedoms  or  the  Nation’s  economic  and  social  life,  the 

nomination power of the President of the French Republic is carried out after a public opinion from 

the relevant permanent committee of each House of the French Parliament. It further provides that 

the  President  of  the  French  Republic  may  not  carry  out  a  nomination  if  the  sum  of  each 

committee’s  negative  votes  represents  at  least  three  fifths  of  the  valid  votes  within  both 

committees. 

1.2  Given that the positions or functions concerned by this Parliamentary control procedure are to be 

determined in an organic law by virtue of Article 13 of the French Constitution, the draft organic 

law precisely aims  at setting the list of positions or functions which are to be subject to the new 

procedure  in  view  of  their  importance  in  guaranteeing  rights  and  freedoms  or  the  Nation’s 

1  
2  

OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42. 
Constitutional Law No 2008-724 of 23 July 2008 on modernising the institutions of the Vth Republic, Journal Officiel de 
la République Française, No 0171 of 24 July 2008, p. 11890. 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
economic and social life. The function of Governor of the Banque de France is among the positions 

and  functions  listed.  The  draft  organic  law  therefore  aims  at  making  the  specific  procedure 

provided for in Article 13, fifth paragraph, of the French Constitution applicable to the Governor of 

the Banque de France, thereby giving the French Parliament the right to scrutinise the nomination 
of the Governor of the Banque de France by the President of the French Republic3, including the 

right to veto, under certain conditions, a proposal for a nomination. 

1.3 

In  accordance  with  Article  13  of  the  French  Constitution,  the  draft  law  complements  the  draft 

organic law and determines for each of the concerned positions or functions the relevant permanent 

committees within the French National Assembly and Senate. For the function of Governor of the 

Banque de France, the committee competent in monetary matters would be the relevant permanent 

committee within each House of the French Parliament. 

2. 

General observations 

2.1  The provisions of the draft organic law and the draft law that concern the nomination procedure of 

the  Governor  of  the  Banque  de  France  are  compatible  with  the  Treaty  and  the  Statute  of  the 

European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank (hereinafter the ‘Statute of 

the ESCB’) and do not interfere with the personal independence requirements under Article 14.2 of 

the Statute of the ESCB. 

2.2  The  inclusion  of  the  Governor  of  the  Banque  de  France  in  the  list  of  holders  of  positions  and 
functions concerned may result in an extension of the length of the nomination procedure4. In this 

regard, the ECB notes the need for the smooth and continuous functioning of the decision-making 
bodies of the Banque de France5 under the new nomination procedure. 

This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website. 

Done at Frankfurt am Main, 24 September 2009. 

[signed] 

The President of the ECB 

Jean-Claude TRICHET 

3  

4  

5  

Article  L.142-8,  seventh  paragraph,  first  sentence,  of  the  French  Monetary  and  Financial  Code  provides  that  the 
Governor and the two Deputy Governors of Banque de France are nominated by a decree in the Council of Ministers for 
a six-year term of office, which may be renewed once. 
See impact assessment of the draft organic law and draft law on the application of Article 13 of the French Constitution, 
p. 4, point 3.2. 
ECB Convergence Report, May 2008, p. 14. 

2