France on Wednesday named Odile Renaud-Basso, a Brussels insider familiar with the internal workings of European institutions, as the new head of the French Treasury. As the highest-ranking civil servant at the finance ministry, the head of the Treasury is one of France's top negotiators in Brussels and other global forums, working behind the scenes on hot issues such as the Greek debt crisis or a potential British exit from the European Union.
Renaud-Basso, 50, currently deputy head of state lender Caisse des Depots, will replace Bruno Bezard who leaves on June 20 to join a Franco-Chinese investment fund. She becomes the first female to hold the post. Asked why she was chosen over other candidates, government spokesman Stephane Le Foll told reporters her European experience had made the difference.
Having spent five years at the European Commission's economic affairs directorate (DG ECFIN), Renaud-Basso served as deputy chief of staff to European Council President Herman Van Rompuy between 2010 and 2012, during the most acute phase of the euro zone debt crisis. Her predecessor Bezard told Reuters last week he was joining Cathay Capital, a Sino-French fund with offices in Shanghai and Paris, a rare move for a top French official, who typically land top jobs at the IMF, the European Central Bank or French banks. Among former Treasury supremos, Michel Camdessus and Jacques de Larosiere headed the Washington-based International Monetary Fund, while Jean-Claude Trichet became the president of the Frankfurt-based European Central Bank.