European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde contacted fellow policymakers to say she remains concentrated on her role at the ECB and that she would tell them directly if she intended to step down, according to multiple people who received the message.
The private communication came after media reports said Lagarde planned to leave the job early, prior to next year’s French presidential election, in order to give the outgoing French president a say in naming her successor. Recipients of Lagarde’s message interpreted the note as an indication that she was not preparing to resign immediately, though the text did not categorically rule out the possibility of departure.
According to those who saw the message, Lagarde’s wording was intended to reassure colleagues about her current focus on ECB duties and to stress that any decision about stepping down would come from her directly rather than through the press. The people who described the exchange said the message suggested she did not want to leave right away, while stopping short of firmly closing the door on an eventual resignation.
An ECB spokesperson declined to comment on the matter.
Details of the exchange were shared by recipients who read the message and who took its tone to mean that Lagarde was not set on an immediate exit from the presidency. The communication reportedly aimed to ensure colleagues heard any major personal decisions from her first, rather than learning of them through media reports.
While recipients read the note as signalling continuity in the near term, the language did not remove uncertainty about potential future moves. The matter remains subject to interpretation by those within the institution and by outside observers.
This account reflects the information described by the people who received the private message and the contemporaneous media report referenced by them. No formal confirmation or further comment has been provided by ECB officials.