According to recent reports, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure has emphasized the need for a greater number of euro-pegged stablecoins in Europe, urging banks across the EU to explore the potential of tokenized deposits. This shift in stance was expressed on Friday, as reported by Reuters.
Lescure's comments signal a potential adjustment in the French government's and its central bank's approach to digital payments. The minister expressed support for Qivalis, a consortium of 12 European banks, including prominent institutions such as BBVA, ING, UniCredit, and BNP Paribas, which plan to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin in the second half of 2026. The goal is to counter the dominance of the US in the digital payments sector. Lescure stated, "That is what we need and that is what we want.
I also strongly encourage banks to further explore the launch of tokenized deposits." He 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, under former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, had adopted a strict stance against privately issued fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies, viewing them as a threat to national sovereignty. In 2023, Le Maire was involved in a European Commission plan 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 against the potential risks of stablecoins and tokenized private money, citing the threat of privatization of money and loss of monetary sovereignty.