assets gain prominence, to prevent regression in the safety and efficiency of wholesale transactions. accordingly, the banque de france was one of the first central banks to launch an ambitious experimental program focused on the use of wholesale central bank digital currency ( cbdc ) in various settlement processes for varied assets. in addition, in an evolving landscape, where traditional infrastructures are likely to coexist with new dlt systems, interoperability will be crucial in preventing market fragmentation and central bank money can help ensure it. the payment - vs - payment ( pvp ) experiment in cbdc we recently conducted with the hong kong monetary authority is an illustration of this, with an interoperability mechanism supported by swift to ensure synchronised settlement of both legs of the transaction. since may 2024, the eurosystem has also been testing various interoperable solutions for settling tokenised financial assets via central bank money and we are actively contributing to it. looking further ahead, the bis has put forward the vision of a global unified ledger - a long - term vision that could begin with the establishment of regional unified ledgers, such as a european unified ledger. project agora is likely to be an important building block in an exploratory approach to make this vision concrete and test it, and we are also taking part in it. 2. retail digital payments in the retail space, contrary to the wholesale one, we observe the coexistence and complementarity of central bank money – in the form of cash – and private money. while their respective role has evolved over time with users'habits, in europe it has undergone very rapid and significant changes in the past few decades, in relation with the development of the digital economy. the use of cash has steadily declined : in 2022, cash was used in 50 % of in - store payments in france, compared with 68 % in 2016. meanwhile, cashless payment solutions have rapidly developed, boosted by the growth of e - commerce and innovative solutions such as contactless and mobile payments. these changes bring many benefits for consumers, with payments becoming increasingly convenient, faster and innovative. the banque de france therefore strongly supports and encourages innovation by payments stakeholders and the private sector. however, digitalisation also comes with challenges for central banks. first, regulatory and supervisory frameworks need to be adopted to foster innovation in a trusted environment. this is what we have done in the case of private digital assets in europe where the mica regulation has provided a

increase in december was expected and does not call into question our continuing victory over inflation. in france, inflation was even lower at 1. 8 % according to the harmonised index, ii and we expect it to average 1. 6 % in 2025. this has already enabled us at the ecb governing council, headed up by christine lagarde, to lower our key interest rates on four separate occasions, from 4 % to 3 % between june and december. as a result, property lending was able to recover, with new loans totalling eur 10. 1 billion in november – compared with a low of eur 7 billion in march – and the french economy was well financed thanks to your commitment : private sector loans grew by 1. 3 % over the year. french economic growth of 1. 1 % was higher than that of the euro area and higher than our initial forecast of 0. 9 %, due in particular to the impact of the olympic games, which will go down as an example of the major successes france can achieve when everyone 1 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches works together. lastly, employment has held up relatively well so far, with 2. 2 million jobs created over the last ten years and 1. 2 million in the last five... even if, with the unemployment rate at 7. 4 %, we are still too far from the goal of full employment. clearly, we are moving into 2025 in a position of greater uncertainty, and thus with potentially more of the wait - and - see attitude on the part of businesses and their investment, and households, whose savings rate is at an all - time high. iii and yet, i feel that the word'hope'has never been so present in the air, like some rare and yet indispensable resource. in french, the beautiful word " esperance " can express at least two expectations : the vital need for trust – and the banque de france remains more than ever an institution built on trust ; but also – if i am speaking, in front of insurers, of mathematical expectancy – a probability. so, please allow me to present you with four lucid esperances, beginning with the most probable. 1. a year of falling key interest rates in europe at 3 %, our key interest rate is well below those of the us federal reserve ( fed ) ( 4. 25 % - 4. 50 % ) and the bank of england ( 4.