[...] France's treasury director at the time, a certain Jean-Claude Trichet, expressed the French authorities' hubris admirably. In a bid to refute the plain truth that the Deutsche Mark was the anchor keeping the EMS-ERM system grounded, he denied the dominance of the German currency with the extraordinary statement that 'the anchor of the [EMS] system is the system itself'.

Incapable of grasping the finer aspects of French postmodern sophistry, Bundesbank officials were aghast. [...]