Images: Valentin François dit Hardy, Pierre Dehoorne, Florianne Amblard, Pierre-Yves Deheunynck, Grégory Scié and Anatole ToulouzanIt has always been a very discreet, even secret institution. All French people know its name, of course, but who really knows how it works and what it is used for? For the first time, the French central bank opens its doors wide for an immersion in the backstage and the secrets of this house founded by Napoleon, more than two hundred years ago. How are banknotes made? Where are France’s gold reserves stored? How do agents gauge the health of the country’s economy? Through this journey behind the scenes of the Banque de France, in Auvergne, Île-de-France, Vendée and as far as Frankfurt, surprising portraits and professions are revealed in equally surprising places.
