jean - claude trichet : interview with paris match interview of mr jean - claude trichet, president of the european central bank, conducted by ms elisabeth chavelet ( paris match ) on 7 december 2005 and published in the edition of paris match dated 15 - 21 december 2005. the publication of the translation was authorised by paris match. * * * paris match. after two uneventful years at the head of the ecb, in december you became embroiled in your first political storm. political leaders, economists, bosses and trade union representatives lined up to condemn the 0. 25 % increase in your headline rate on 1 december. they accuse you of threatening europe ’ s fragile recovery. has this manning of the barricades made you think again? jean - claude trichet. i would not say that the last two years have been uneventful. it has been necessary to safeguard price stability in a period made very difficult by the increase in oil prices. moreover, it is only to be expected in large and exemplary democracies that different opinions should be voiced. it is up to us to speak out tirelessly and marshal the most convincing arguments. that said, i believe that the public debate did not reflect the true feelings of the 311 million european and 60 million french citizens. all the indications are that that our fellow european citizens require us to be vigilant with regard to price stability and that they are not overly content with the situation as it stands. i would have preferred at least part of the public debate in europe and france to have focused on what our fellow citizens want. we believe that, by remaining faithful to our mandate – which is to safeguard price stability and preserve the euro ’ s purchasing power – we are doing what 311 million europeans require of us while, at the same time, by doing so we are supporting growth and job creation. p. m. many europeans label the euro a factor of inflation after seeing the price of a loaf of bread rise from five french francs to €1, an espresso from five french francs to €1. 20, or a scratchcard from ten french francs to €2. what do you think of this? j. - c. t. you are exaggerating the increase in the cost of a loaf or an espresso on 1 january 2002! in some economies, the idea that the euro is inflationary remains rooted in the collective consciousness because, at the time of the changeover to the single currency,

would not say anything else. this is the governing council ’ s position. p. m. since france voted “ no ” to the referendum on the constitutional treaty, europe seems to be totally paralysed. does that worry you? j. - c. t. europe has experienced and is experiencing a complex historical episode in a rapidly changing world. i remain very optimistic. i believe that the progress of europe, which is a colossal historical undertaking, has temporarily hit a difficult patch that probably in itself results from its truly phenomenal success. who could have predicted the fall of the soviet union, and that the whole of communist central and eastern europe would join western europe very quickly? i think that in europe we are in a maturing phase. as far as we are concerned, europe has not come to a standstill. rather, it is very dynamic. we work with the twelve countries of the euro area, and the other eight countries whose currencies are directly pegged to the euro by means of the european exchange rate mechanism. in order to prepare well for the success of the european union and enlargement, 27 nations are working together in the european system of central banks, including romania and bulgaria as observers. we are proud that we have given europe a credible currency and a historically unparalleled financial environment with medium and long - term interest rates at levels that hundreds of millions of europeans could only have dreamed of prior to the euro. p. m. you still have six years left of your mandate as president with a very hectic life. don't you sometimes wish that you could go fishing in your beloved city of saint - malo? j. - c. t. along with my colleagues on the executive board, the governing council, the entire ecb staff and the eurosystem, i am very privileged to take part in such an immense historical endeavour that is of great benefit to europe. it is inspiring. this justifies all of the hard work that we do. that said, i love going to saint - malo. for me, the rance estuary is one of the most beautiful places on earth.