And, while I will also briefly go into the cyclical outlook for France, this will be largely with the outlook for the euro area as a whole in mind. Before I turn to this discussion and the policy challenges associated with it, please allow me to review the case for this area-wide perspective.
The primary objective of the Eurosystem is to maintain price stability in the euro area. This implies that the single monetary policy can only be based on developments in the euro area as a whole. Given this view, decisions are made with due consideration of all information that is available and relevant with a view to maintaining price stability in the medium term.