French Finance Minister Roland Lescure emphasized the need for more euro-denominated stablecoins in Europe and encouraged EU banks to explore tokenized deposit options, as reported by Reuters. This shift in stance is evident within the French government and its central bank. 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 goal is to counter US dominance in digital payments. "This is what we need, and this is what we want," Lescure stated, also urging banks to further investigate tokenized deposits. He noted that the current low volume of euro-pegged stablecoins compared to dollar-pegged ones is "unsatisfactory." This stance marks a departure from the strict regulatory approach of former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who previously argued that privately-issued fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies posed a threat to national sovereignty.
More recently, Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau warned that stablecoins and tokenized private money could accelerate the loss of monetary sovereignty, framing it as a political threat.