Since the liberalization of trade and the internationalization of financial markets, central banks have become major players in the choice and implementation of economic policy. They have different missions and statuses depending on the country or continent. Of all, it is the European Central Bank (ECB) that has the greatest freedom of action, thanks to its independence enshrined in its founding treaty and the definition of its mission in its statute, to reduce and maintain inflation in the euro zone to a level below but close to 2%. It can then act to support growth and employment.

The US Federal ...

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INSEE has just published its first estimate of the growth figures of the French economy in the 1st quarter of 2026, i.e. 0%. Comments about this stagnation do not seem to have understood the nature of the problem. Just because we went from +0.2% in the 4th quarter of 2025 to 0% does not mean that there is a new fact. The imprecision of the numbers after the decimal point should be taken into account. Secondly, a comparison is made between the crisis in the Middle East and the results of the 1st quarter. In reality, this very ...

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The publication of the IFO business index in Germany for February, which is significantly lower than expected (84.4, the lowest level since the low point of the COVID period) after 86.3 in January, reflects the current difficulties of the German economy. But the essential question is whether these are the consequences of the current international instability and will therefore fade away in the future or a structural change affecting a country whose economic model has long been the benchmark in Europe.

Paul Valéry, in his study published in 1898 (A Methodical Conquest) described it as follows: "To ...

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