According to recent reports, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure has emphasized the need for more euro-denominated stablecoins in Europe, urging banks across the EU to explore the potential of tokenized deposits. This statement may signal a shift in the French government's and central bank's approach to digital currencies.
Lescure expressed his support for Qivalis, a consortium of 12 European banks, including prominent institutions such as BBVA, ING, UniCredit, and BNP Paribas, which plans to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin in the second half of 2026. The goal of this initiative is to counter the dominance of the US in the digital payments sector. 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 minister noted that the current volume of euro-pegged stablecoins is relatively low compared to those pegged to the US dollar, describing this situation as "not satisfactory." Previously, the French government had adopted a strict stance on privately issued fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies, with the former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire stating that they had no place in Europe and posed a threat to national sovereignty.
In 2023, Le Maire was involved in a EU document that outlined plans to limit the widespread use of stablecoins as a replacement for traditional fiat currency. More recently, the Governor of the Bank of France, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, warned that stablecoins and tokenized private money could accelerate the threat of privatization of money and loss of monetary sovereignty.