Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a pleasure to welcome you to the Banque de France for this award ceremony for the 36th international economics and finance dissertation competition. Before going on to highlight the best dissertations and the most original work selected by the jury this year, I would like to specifically address all the students.
As you start or prepare to start your professional life, I want to share with you a perspective and two certainties, which I hope could help you in the early years of your career and, maybe, beyond. (I) The perspective is that of a threshold between two eras. This eventually represents an opportunity and a responsibility. To make the most of the situation, I am convinced we need to change our mindset (II), first, to finally make financial integration a strategic strength for Europe, and second (III), to make Europeans masters of their own destiny rather than passive bystanders to a technocratic project.
