French Finance Minister Roland Lescure emphasized the need for more euro-denominated stablecoins on Friday, as reported by Reuters. He also encouraged European banks to explore the use of tokenized deposits.
This shift in stance is significant, as it may signal a change in the French government's approach to digital currencies. Lescure expressed support for Qivalis, a consortium of 12 European banks planning to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin in the second half of 2026. The goal is to counter the dominance of US-based digital payment systems.
"This is what we need, and this is what we want," Lescure stated. He also noted that the current volume of euro-pegged stablecoins is "not satisfactory" compared to those pegged to the US dollar. This marks a departure from the previous strict regulatory stance against privately-issued fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies, led by former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire.
Le Maire had argued that such currencies posed a threat to national sovereignty. More recently, Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau warned of the potential risks of stablecoins and tokenized private money, citing the threat of privatization of money and loss of monetary sovereignty.