The man tasked by France with stealing the City’s lunch does not sound like the envoy of the rapacious government sometimes described by irate commentators.

Christian Noyer, the soft-spoken former governor of Banque de France, the French central bank, even insists that Brexit will not be, or should not be a calamity for the future of London as financial center. The UK capital, he insists, will remain a major European finance hub.