French Finance Minister Roland Lescure emphasized the need for more stablecoins pegged to the euro and encouraged banks in the EU to explore tokenized deposits, as reported by Reuters. This statement may signal a shift in the French government's and its central bank's approach to digital currencies. Lescure expressed support for Qivalis, a consortium of 12 European banks, including BBVA, ING, UniCredit, and BNP Paribas, which plans to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin in the second half of 2026. The move aims to counter the dominance of the US in digital payments.
Lescure stated, 'That's what we need, and that's what we want.' He also urged banks to further investigate the launch of tokenized deposits. The relatively low volume of euro-pegged stablecoins compared to dollar-pegged ones was deemed 'not satisfactory' by Lescure. This stance differs from that of former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who previously advocated for strict regulations against privately issued fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies, citing concerns over national sovereignty. More recently, Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau warned that stablecoins and tokenized private money could pose a threat to monetary sovereignty during a discussion with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.