Colleagues in France have reminded us of this somewhat enigmatic response to a question whether France would push for opening up the process of leadership selection. It came from a French government spokesperson at a press conference before the Wolfowitz resignation.
“Comme vous le dites, ce n’est pas une règle écrite, elle ne figure pas dans les statuts de la Banque. C’est simplement une pratique qui existe depuis 1946. Il faut donc la prendre comme telle. Je ne crois pas que ce soit la question aujourd’hui.” [As you say, it’s not a written rule, it’s not in the Bank articles. It’s simply a practice which has existed since 1946. We must treat it as such. I don’t believe that this is the question today.]