According to Reuters, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure emphasized the need for more euro-issued stablecoins on Friday. He also encouraged European banks to explore the potential of tokenized deposits. This shift in stance is notable, given the French government's and central bank's previous reservations about digital currencies. Lescure expressed support for Qivalis, a consortium of 12 European banks planning 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. "This is what we need, and this is what we want," Lescure stated, also urging banks to further investigate tokenized deposits.
He noted that the current volume of euro-pegged stablecoins is "not satisfactory" compared to those pegged to the US dollar. The comments mark a departure from the strict stance of former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who previously argued that privately-issued fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies had no place in Europe. More recently, Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau cautioned against the potential threat of stablecoins and tokenized private money to monetary sovereignty.