French Finance Minister Roland Lescure emphasized the need for more euro-denominated stablecoins in Europe and encouraged EU banks to explore tokenized deposits, as reported by Reuters. This statement may signify a 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 to counter US dominance in digital payments. "This is what we need, and this is what we want," Lescure stated, also urging banks to further investigate the launch of tokenized deposits.
He noted that the relatively low volume of euro-pegged stablecoins compared to dollar-pegged ones is "unsatisfactory." Previously, former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire led a strict regulatory approach against privately issued fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies, deeming them a threat to national sovereignty. In 2023, Le Maire was linked to an EU document outlining the European Commission's plan to restrict 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 discussion with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.