According to recent reports, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure emphasized the need for more euro-denominated stablecoins in Europe, urging EU banks to explore tokenized deposits. This statement marks a potential shift in the French government's policy, as Lescure expressed support for a group of 12 European banks, including BBVA and BNP Paribas, planning to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin in the second half of 2026. The goal is to counter the dominance of the US in digital payments. Lescure stated, "That's what we need, and that's what we want," and encouraged banks to further investigate tokenized deposits.
He also 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 opposed privately-issued fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies. More recently, the Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau warned of the potential threat of stablecoins and tokenized private money to monetary sovereignty.