According to recent reports, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure has emphasized the need for a greater number of euro-denominated stablecoins in Europe. He also encouraged banks across the EU to explore the use of tokenized deposits. This shift in stance was expressed on Friday, as reported by Reuters.
The French government and its central bank may be reevaluating their position on 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 goal of this initiative is to counter the dominance of US-based digital payment systems.
"This is what we need, and this is what we want," Lescure stated, also urging banks to investigate the launch of tokenized deposits further. He noted that the current volume of euro-pegged stablecoins is relatively low compared to those pegged to the US dollar, describing this situation as "unsatisfactory." Previously, the French government had taken a stricter stance on privately issued fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies, with former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire stating that they posed a threat to national sovereignty. In 2023, Le Maire was linked to an EU document outlining plans to limit the widespread use of stablecoins as a replacement for traditional currency. More recently, the Governor of the Bank of France, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, warned that stablecoins and tokenized private money could accelerate the threat of privatization of money and loss of monetary sovereignty.