On Tuesday, 18 November 2025, a solemn and moving ceremony was held to present the Academician’s sword to Jean-Claude Trichet, in front of a large and prestigious assembly of French and foreign ministers, diplomats, bankers, industrialists and academics. Edouard Balladur, former French Prime Minister, and Mario Monti, former President of the Italian Council, retraced the career of Jean-Claude Trichet, successively Director of the Cabinet of the Minister of the Economy, Governor of the Banque de France, then President of the European Central Bank. The sword was presented to him by Remy Sautter, president of the Sword Committee.
The Turgot Prize owes much to Jean-Claude Trichet, who chairs the Prize Jury and has written several books written by the Cercle and the Club Turgot. The latter recently reviewed the latest book edited by Jean-Claude Trichet, Good Governance.
Jean-Claude TRICHET (dir.), La Bonne Gouvernance, Eds PUF, 2024, 402 pages
The collective work led by J-C. Trichet, President of the Turgot Prize jury, presents an unparalleled prestige among the 5,000 works reviewed by members of the Turgot club since 1987. This work brings together a prestigious areopagus composed of former prime ministers and ministers, European commissioners and senior officials, leaders of international institutions and ambassadors, central, international and national bankers, who have held the highest positions over the last half-century.
The book covers governance in all its dimensions, international and national, public and private, past (the great models), present (the improbable devices) and future (the expectations). The book also presents the originality of being written in different styles relating to the lecture course, political discourse, legal brief, collection of memories… But it nevertheless retains its coherence and its power of attraction, which are qualities less and less perceived in post-modern political and economic literature. The work is organized into five chapters. The first deals with the private governance practiced by large international, industrial and banking companies, with the testimonies and recommendations of P. Barbizet, then A. Minc, H. Davies and E. Roman. The second chapter deals with the governance of major international institutions, with contributions from O. Renaud-Basso on the governance of the IBRD, then by P. Lamy on the WTO, J. de Lamassoure on the effects of monetary policies and C. Lagarde on supra-national governance. Chapter 3 deals with “green governance” with E. Faber, who explains the foundations of the strategy of the ISSB (International Sustainability Standards Board), then M. Mac Carney, who reflects on good global environmental governance, while L. Fabius draws lessons from the 2016 COP22. Chapter 4 is devoted to “good government and good public administration”. E. Balladur analyses the successive reforms to the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, while L. Fabius analyses the different forms of governance practised at the international and national levels. J-C. Junker traces the evolution of the European institutions; Mr. Pébereau underlines the urgency of a recovery of French finances; F. Villeroy de Galhau presents the governance of the Banque de France and Mr. de Boisdeffre reflects on the role of users in Western democracies. Finally, Chapter 5 compares the different global visions of governance with a reflection by J-D. Levitte on the progress of world diplomacy since the 1990s; T. de Montbrial questions the future of the global economic system. The late J. Baechter strives in conclusion to distinguish between “good governance”, which is efficient and/or profitable, and “good governance”, which is moral and equitable, the combination of which is becoming increasingly difficult.
J-J. PLUCHART
