Politicians adopt truckers' philosophy

The French have a bizarre sense of timing. With the whole of Europe up in arms over the disruption created by the lorry drivers' strike and on the eve of Chancellor Helmut Kohl's visit to Paris, President Chirac and Prime Minister Jospin issued the first joint communique of their five-month "cohabitation".

The French leaders did not apologise to their European partners for the persecution of European citizens trapped at roadblocks. They did not even mention the affront to European unity, or the catastrophic financial losses inflicted on France's innocent neighbours. No, Mr Chirac and Mr Jospin - like the lorry drivers were asserting their rights when they announced that Mr Jean-Claude Trichet, the Governor of the French Central Bank, was their candidate to lead the future European Central Bank (ECB).

France refuses to accept the candidacy of Mr Wim Duisenberg, the former Governor of the Dutch Central Bank, as a fait accompli. the precursor of the ECB in May 1996. France opposed his appointment, and last December at the Dublin summit Mr Chirac warned that Mr Duisenberg's position "in no way prejudges" the leadership of the ECB.

Mr Trichet's candidacy is a symptom of Franco-German rivalry, and of French insistence that European monetary policy be made by politicians as well as bankers. The French describe Mr Duisenberg as a "clone" of the Bundesbank.

Mr Chirac and Mr Jospin were defending French national interest when they proposed Mr Trichet, Le Figaro said, adding that his nomination was "to preserve the balance of forces between the two great powers of Europe".

Furthermore, the French claim, Chancellor Kohl and the late President Mitterrand made a deal as early as 1992 to swap the seat of the ECB for the presidency. In 1994, Frankfurt was chosen as the headquarters of the ECB, and Paris thought the presidency would be reserved for a Frenchman.

Mr Pierre Moscovici, the French Minister for European Affairs, said this week it would be only "natural" that the first governor of the ECB be a Frenchman, adding that there was "at least an implicit agreement" to this effect. For its part, the German government says there was no such agreement - implicit or otherwise.

Sadly, the battle for the ECB is being fought on the basis of nationality, not merit. In terms of experience and monetary policy, Mr Trichet has a lot in common with his Dutch competitor.

A graduate of the French Ecole Nationale d'Administration, Mr Trichet holds the rank of Inspector General of Finances, was chief aide to Mr Edouard Balladur at the Ministry of the Economy, and is a former director of the Treasury. At the helm of their respective central banks, Mr Trichet and Mr Duisenberg both anchored their currencies to the deutschmark. And both have been fervent advocates of EMU.

Mr Trichet's critics claim he has hurt the French economy and contributed to unemployment by over-valuing the franc.