According to Reuters, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure stated on Friday that Europe requires more stablecoins pegged to the euro, and EU banks should investigate tokenized deposits. This declaration marks a potential shift in the stance of the French government and its central bank.
Lescure expressed his support for Qivalis, a consortium of 12 European banks, including BBVA, ING, UniCredit, and BNP Paribas, which plans to introduce a euro-pegged stablecoin in the second half of 2026. The goal is to counter the dominance of the US in digital payments. Lescure emphasized, "This is what we need, and this is what we want." He also urged banks to further explore the launch of tokenized deposits. The relatively low volume of euro-pegged stablecoins compared to those pegged to the dollar was deemed "unsatisfactory" by Lescure.
Previously, former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire led a strict regulatory approach against privately issued fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies, stating they had no place in Europe and posed 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 fiat currency.
More recently, Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau warned that stablecoins and tokenized private money could accelerate the threat of privatization of money and loss of monetary sovereignty during a live confrontation with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.