According to Reuters, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure emphasized the need for more euro-denominated stablecoins in Europe and encouraged banks within the EU to explore tokenized deposits on Friday. This announcement suggests a potential shift in the stance of the French government and its central bank.
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, "This is what we need, and this is what we want. I also strongly encourage banks to further explore the launch of tokenized deposits." He noted that the relatively low volume of euro-pegged stablecoins compared to dollar-pegged ones is "not satisfactory".
In contrast to the previous strict regulatory stance against privately-issued fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies, this new development may signal a more open approach. Former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire had previously stated that such currencies "had no place on European soil" and posed a threat to "the sovereignty of nations". 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.