Gold, lies and more lies?

 

France recently decided to repatriate the last of its gold reserves that had been stored in the USA for the past several decades.  The "official" story goes like this.

The Banque de France (BdF) announced last week that it generated a capital gain of €12.8 billion after upgrading 129 tonnes of gold – about 5 percent of France's total reserves – between July 2025 and January 2026.

The gold was the last of the French reserves held in New York. It was replaced with the equivalent amount bought in Europe and held in Paris. 

The BdF has been gradually replacing older, non‑standard gold with bars that meet ​modern international standards since 2005. It moved the majority of its gold reserves out of the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England between 1963 and 1966.

Rather than refining and transporting the gold that remained in the US, the bank opted to sell it and purchase new, compliant bullion on the European market.

. . .

France’s total gold reserves of about 2,437 tonnes – the fourth-largest in the world – are now all in Paris. This includes 134 tonnes of older bars and coins, which the bank intends to bring up to standard by 2028.

There's more at the link.

Understand that the gold bars France sold in the USA were almost certainly standard-weight bars of "three nines fine" metal (i.e. refined to at least 99.9% purity).  All gold bars traded internationally, and held in national gold reserves, are supposed to be so-called "good delivery" bars as specified by the London Bullion Market Association.  The bars stored in the USA would presumably have met that standard, or they could not have been traded as "good delivery" gold - only sold for re-refining and re-casting into standard bars.  Gold thus traded is less expensive than "good delivery" gold.  If the gold had been in non-standard format, it's unlikely that the USA would have paid France the price for "good delivery" gold bars.

However, this raises even more questions.  A market observer sends the following.

My two cents on the repatriation of French gold bars:
- France asked to return their 12.5 kg gold bars
- US had already sold them
- US offered to wire the money
- France accepted and bought new 12.5 kg gold bars in London
- Both countries agreed on the following spin to sell the story: 
- new bars bought to ‘meet current standards’ 
- Spin is 100% bullshit
- 12.5 kg 999.9 pure gold bars have always been 999.9 pure gold bars of 12,5 kg
- previous gold repatriations always happened without the ‘need for current standards’ 
- MSM doesn’t ask questions and prints spin
- Another PR disaster avoided for the US/FED 
- The rigging of the dollar system can go on 
- The can can be kicked a bit further down the road

I find it very hard to disagree with him.  I think he's right.  I think the US Federal Reserve had already sold off the gold that France had on deposit in the USA, so it could not return it when France asked for it.  Instead, the USA offered an equivalent value in dollars, which France was quick to accept.  It bought gold in Europe using that money (and now proudly claims it made a profit on the gold, having bought it before the recent price ramp-up).

Back in January, I asked:

What happened to the audit of US gold reserves in Fort Knox that we were promised?  Where is it?  Where are the results?  The subject has literally vanished from view.  My conclusion is that it's being deliberately suppressed;  and if that's the case, then I can only assume that our gold reserves simply aren't there any more.

Again, more at the link.

Is that what happened to France's US gold holdings as well?  In the light of this news, I hope more people will ask the same questions about both US and French gold reserves, loudly and repeatedly, until we get answers.  Will they be truthful answers?  Your guess is as good as mine . . .

Peter