There had recently been a meeting of the International Monetary Fund in

Washington, at which M. d'Estaing had taken a more conciliatory line vis-a-vis America than his country had followed in the recent past. Today's discussion is often technical, on matters such as excess dollars held by foreign governments, floating versus fixed exchange rates, and Common Market farming policies, but it is good to meet the future President of the Republic, in company with the future U.S. Ambassador to France. VGdE: "Flotation is probably a means to be used before an adjustment of parities. If you want to know how the market would judge your own currency, it could be useful to let it float, for instance, several weeks or a few months, but not as an institution."