Interview with Benoît Cœuré, President of the Autorité de la concurrence (ENSAE 1992)
Variances.eu, the ENSAE Alumni webzine variances.eu is a collaborative space designed to host theoretical reflections, debates on ideas, information watch, business applications... on all major societal issues approached from the analytical and forward-looking perspectives of the exact, human and social sciences. The platform is also enriched by feedback and portraits of ENSAE Paris graduates.
François Lequiller and Eric Tazé-Bernard interviewed Benoît Cœuré (ENSAE 1992) for Variances.eu, appointed President of the Autorité de la concurrence by decree of the President of the Republic on January 20, 2022, published on January 21 in the Journal Officiel. A graduate of École polytechnique and ENSAE Paris, the former head of innovation at the Bank for International Settlements and former member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank is the first economist to head the Autorité de la concurrence.
L’ENSAE m’a donné une formation solide en économie et en économétrie qui m’a convaincu de l’importance de toujours confronter ses intuitions aux données, et de l’utilité des modèles pour tester la cohérence des raisonnements.
During the interview (in French), Benoît Cœuré talked about his career and the work of the Autorité de la concurrence:
- What are the missions of this institution?
- What are the legal bases, including European ones, for its interventions, and what instruments does it have at its disposal to act?
- What is the relationship and division of tasks between the Competition Authority and the European authorities?
- Looking more specifically at "digital" issues, what role can you play in regulating the major players (GAFAM) and, beyond that, other fast-developing activities? In terms of data access? Artificial intelligence?
- Why is the climate transition one of the Autorité de la concurrence's priorities?