'Make Europe Great Again,' says governor of Bank of France

The governor of the Bank of France, François Villeroy de Galhau, donned a green cap bearing the message "Make Europe Great Again," a twist on Donald Trump's slogan, Friday during a debate on European sovereignty in Aix-en-Provence.

"It's about putting Europe at the forefront, and I'll even say putting Europe on the head. So I'm going to take a somewhat ungubernatorial look, I'll alert you in advance," he said.

He then put on the cap, a nod to the red hat often worn by American President Donald Trump, emblazoned with his slogan "Make America Great Again."

"I promised to wear it; I don't promise to keep it on because it’s rather warm, but you'll see the message," he added about the cap borrowed from a "friend," amid applause, during the Economic Meetings held until Saturday.

Fragmented industrial policy, high energy costs, bureaucratic complexities, lagging in digital technologies... The European Union is experiencing a setback compared to the United States, whose decision to increase tariffs also affects its economic outlook.

"Trump is obviously something very adverse for the global, American, and European economy, but it's an awakening for us," assured the governor of the Bank of France.

"The opportunity, with what's happening with the new American administration, is a waiting period for monetary Europe and a possibility of an increased international role for the euro," he continued.

"It will be a gradual diversification, it can be done through more European debt, notably to finance defense, it might be done through mutualization of existing national debts. No solution is obvious," he believes.

"We need to transpose what we achieved in terms of monetary sovereignty 25 years ago with the euro to economic and financial sovereignty," the central banker emphasized.

He also advocated for greater integration of the capital market. "Everything we can do to strengthen our internal financial market, this Union of savings and investment, will also contribute to external attraction, because the more we have an integrated financial Europe, the more external capital will come," he added.