French Finance Minister Roland Lescure has emphasized the need for more euro-denominated stablecoins and encouraged banks in the EU to explore tokenized deposits, marking a significant shift in the government's approach. According to Reuters, 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.
I also strongly encourage banks to further explore the launch of tokenized deposits." He noted that the current volume of euro-pegged stablecoins is "not satisfactory" compared to dollar-pegged ones. This stance differs from the previous strict regulatory approach led by former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who had expressed concerns about the impact of privately-issued fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies on European sovereignty. More recently, Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau warned about the potential threat of stablecoins and tokenized private money to monetary sovereignty.