French Finance Minister Roland Lescure emphasized the need for more euro-denominated stablecoins in Europe and encouraged banks to explore the potential of tokenized deposits, as reported by Reuters. This statement may indicate a shift in the French government's and its central bank's approach to 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 is to counter the dominance of the US in digital payments.
Lescure stated, "This is what we need, and this is what we want." He also encouraged banks to further investigate the launch of tokenized deposits. The relatively low volume of euro-pegged stablecoins compared to dollar-pegged ones was deemed "unsatisfactory" by Lescure. Previously, former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire had taken a strict stance against privately issued fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies, viewing them as a threat to national sovereignty. In 2023, Le Maire was linked to an EU document outlining the European Commission's plan to limit the widespread use of stablecoins as a replacement for traditional currency.
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.