According to recent reports, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure has emphasized the need for a greater number of euro-denominated stablecoins in Europe. Lescure also encouraged banks across the EU to explore the use of tokenized deposits. This shift in stance was evident in his support for Qivalis, a consortium of 12 European banks planning to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin in the latter half of 2026, aimed at reducing U.S.
dominance in the digital payments sector. "This is what we need, and this is what we want," Lescure stated, while also urging banks to delve deeper into the launch of tokenized deposits.
He expressed dissatisfaction with the relatively low volume of euro-pegged stablecoins compared to those pegged to the U.S. dollar. This stance marks a departure from the previous strict regulatory approach led by former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who had expressed concerns over the potential threat of privately-issued fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies to national sovereignty. More recently, the Governor of the Bank of France, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, warned against the potential risks of stablecoins and private money, citing the loss of monetary sovereignty as a primary concern.