Subject: France says Beijing backs Lagarde as new IMF chief - SCMP
From: "Michael Andrews" <[email-masked]>
To: "Hunter Biden" <[email-masked]>, "Devon Archer" <[email-masked]>, "Eric Schwerin" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 24 May 2011 08:53:38 -0400

France says Beijing backs Lagarde as new IMF chief
Agence France-Presse
4:23pm, May 24, 2011	

China would back France's Finance Minister Christine Lagarde to be the  
new head the International Monetary Fund, chief French government  
spokesman Francois Baroin said on Tuesday.
“The Chinese are favourable to the candidacy of Christine Lagarde,”  
Baroin, who is also France’s budget minister, said, adding that it was  
too soon to know whether Lagarde would be a candidate.

Beijing’s backing would give a significant boost to Lagarde’s possible  
candidacy, which has been opposed by some emerging nations in protest  
at the tradition of a European always heading the global emergency  
lender.

Germany, Britain and other European powers have backed Lagarde to take  
over as IMF managing director after her countryman Dominique Strauss- 
Kahn resigned following his arrest on sex assault charges.

“What is being drawn up is a European consensus,” Baroin said.

“But you will easily understand, given the circumstances of the IMF  
director’s resignation, and given that it is not a point of national  
pride, that it is not for France to take a position first.”

Under a long-standing arrangement between Europe and the United  
States, a European has always held the top IMF job while an American  
leads its sister institution, the World Bank.

However some emerging economies have called for a chance to get the  
post.

“We do not want to make any gesture that could be interpreted as a  
form of contempt for emerging countries nor any sign of arrogance,  
given the circumstances,” Baroin said.

Lagarde is widely tipped as favourite but has not said whether she  
will run.

Asked on US news channel CNBC on Monday what she would say if offered  
the post, she replied: “I’d say what an interesting question, but  
clearly premature. It’s for others to decide.”

An EU source said Friday that Lagarde, 55, was “practically a shoe-in”  
to become Europe’s candidate, although she has been dogged by a French  
judicial probe into allegations of abuses of power.

A prosecutor called last week for a probe targeting Lagarde in  
connection with her handling of a high-profile scandal involving  
French tycoon Bernard Tapie, amid allegations that she exceeded her  
authority in the case.

Baroin said he was “not worried about that affair”.