In this interview excerpt, Michel Camdessus, Director of the Treasury in the French Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs 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 introduction and workings of special drawing rights (SDRs) and explains how they were used following the global financial crisis in 2007–2008. He also describes the Palais Royal Initiative in 2010, which resulted in 18 proposals for a reform of the international monetary system.

In this interview excerpt, Michel Camdessus, Director of the Treasury in the French Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs 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, explains how, alongside the free market, regulation and solidarity should serve as effective principles that underpin how economies are run.