In this interview excerpt, Michel Camdessus, Director of the French Treasury from 1982 to 1984, Governor of the Banque de France from 1984 to 1987 and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 1987 to 2000, describes the circumstances in which he met Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa in 1982 when Padoa-Schioppa was a Director in the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Economic Affairs and Finance. At this time, France was involved in negotiating its economic recovery plan with the European Communities on the initiative of Jacques Delors, Minister for the Economy, Finance and the Budget from 1981 to 1984.