EXCLUSIVE: France would back Dutch veteran Knot to lead ECB, wants chief economist job, sources say ↧ ↧ EXCLUSIVE: France would back Dutch veteran Knot to lead ECB, wants ... France would back Dutchman Klaas Knot to succeed Christine Lagarde as head of the European Central Bank provided the powerful post of ECB chief economist went to a French ​candidate, people familiar with the matter have told Reuters.