Economics

New IMF Term for Lagarde No Longer Fait Accompli

  • Prospect of negligence trial in France clouds reappointment
  • IMF executive board still confident she can do her job

Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF.

Photographer: Luke MacGregor/Bloomberg
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Christine Lagarde’s smooth ride to a second term as head of the International Monetary Fund just got a little bumpy.

Lagarde, 59, will be tried for negligence in relation to a settlement France reached with businessman Bernard Tapie during her time as the nation’s finance minister, a French court said Thursday, even after prosecutors recommended dropping the case. She has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, and her lawyer said she will appeal the decision to put her on trial.