But we could be sinning by omission, by passiveness. Contrary to a longstanding approach whereby central backs only dialogued with financial specialists, we must now direct our communication at all economic agents,  Page 7 sur 10 including the general public. A better-informed society across categories allows for a better understanding of monetary objectives, and hence a greater efficiency of monetary policy. Tailored and active communication is now a centrepiece of central banks’ actions. In 2021, the “Banque de France listens” initiative included 17 events, with an audience of 300,000. This year, the Banque de France organised its annual National Monetary Policy Forum, reaching an on-line audience of 500,000. It adds up to sustained efforts on financial education: in 2021, almost 40,000 young people benefitted from our actions, and we are stepping up again in 2022. III. Does the international dimension of monetary trust still exist? Whether or not the international dimension of monetary trust can still inspire us is a key question for the IMF, which has sought to embody it since 1944. It has become a painful question, with the ongoing destructive Russian war in Ukraine adding to the other illnesses of multilateralism in the last six years, from Brexit to populism and (poorly-disguised) protectionism. Let us acknowledge it frankly: the G20 is today not in good shape, whereas it had been key to great progress over the last twenty years. And sanctions against Russia divide it.
Against this backdrop, I will refer to Max Weber’s distinction between ethics of conviction –  Page 5 sur 10 a driver for a broad mandate but also to a risk of overpromising what central banks can actually deliver – and ethics of responsibility – a driver for realism and a more focused mandate. The Eurosystem’s answer to that question consists of a clearly hierarchical mandate, with one primary objective, price stability; if fulfilled, we can and must contribute to its secondary objectives of economic growth, social cohesion or the environment. In addition to preventing potentially conflicting objectives, achieving price stability is like killing two birds with one stone: monetary policy can mitigate income inequality by affecting the movements in and out of unemployment through its effects on the business cycle.iii And let me clarify that the Eurosystem’s strong commitment to fight climate change is motivated first and foremost by its profound implications for price stability, through impacts on the economy and the financial system. In other words, we are acting in the very name of our existing mandate. Inflation has accelerated significantly over the past year, reaching 9.1% in the euro area in August and 8.3% in the United States. Monetary normalisation is consequently fully warranted in the euro area among others. It’s too early to tell the final interest rates. But the neutral rate R* helps us to give some light on the first part of the journey.