AIR FRANCE-KLM The calls come a day after French President Francois Hollande and Prime Minister Manuel Valls said the euro was still overvalued and that the European Central Bank needed to do more to tackle excessively low inflation.
"I think nobody wants a euro that is manipulated, but we can't be satisfied with a situation where the euro would be the only currency on which politicians can't talk about," Louis Gallois, the head of the supervisory board of French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen (>> PEUGEOT) told a conference.
"The euro is falling at the moment, but at about 1.32 euros per dollar, it is rather significantly above purchasing power parity, it creates a handicap for growth," Gallois added at the annual gathering of French business lobby Medef.
The euro was last trading at $1.3174 on Thursday, a more than one-year low. Selling of the euro, which traded at nearly $1.40 in May, has been driven over the last week by stepped-up speculation that European policymakers will quicken monetary loosening as a way to boost economic growth.
"The European Central Bank, which has made major steps at the instigation of (ECB President Mario) Draghi, must make public statements ... and promote this debate about the euro question at the G20," Gallois said.
The CEO of Franco-Dutch airline group Air France-KLM (>> AIR FRANCE-KLM) Alexandre de Juniac joined Gallois in demanding a more "offensive" approach to the euro-zone's exchange rate policy.
"The exchange rate has become a taboo, one must not talk about it, one must not use it, even though all other countries do it, that's really extraordinary," de Juniac said.
"The euro is a tool of global calibre ... Let's use our exchange rate policy," he added.
French MEP Sylvie Goulard said French policymakers, who regularly complain about a strong euro, should take into account the ECB's limited room for manoeuvre on the issue.
"The issue is not asking the European Central Bank to do what it's not allowed to do according to treaties, but to see how to interpret these treaties intelligently," she said.
Ulrich Grillo, head of German industry group BDI, reflected his country's long preference for a strong and stable currency, however.
"A strong economy has a strong currency, it doesn't make it easier but on the long run it's better," he said.
(Reporting by Michel Rose; editing by Mark John)
