In addition, French national regulators are recognised for their credible action, and for being at the cutting edge of technological developments, as Geoffroy Goffinet from the ACPR will develop in more detail. Let me just briefly highlight one last course of action at the Banque de France. We have been a pioneer in central bank digital currency (CBDC): in addition to taking an active part in the work on a potential euro retail CBDC, as early as 2020 we launched a series of twelve experiments on a wholesale CBDC, both for payments and securities settlement. The first nine experiments have been very valuable, and the three experiments underway focus on cross-border payments and tokenised asset settlement. 4 We are keen to pursue our long-standing partnership with commercial banks, to reconcile innovation and security. To conclude, this stay in New York is also the opportunity for me to point out that the Statue of Liberty, which so forcefully embodies our common values, is the fruit of a tight cooperation between France and America. Let this fruitful cooperation carry on throughout the 21st century; we will be happy to welcome you in Paris. I thank you for your attention, and will now leave the floor to Olivier Vigna, deputy CEO of Paris Europlace. 1 ECB, Macroeconomic Projections, 16 March 2023 2 Eurostat flash estimate, 31 March 2023 3 Bloomberg, 22 March 2023 4 An updated report will be published by the Banque de France within next months.
You  can already refer to our report published in November 2021 for the key findings from our first nine experiments. 3/3  BIS - Central bankers' speeches