According to recent reports, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure emphasized the need for more euro-pegged stablecoins in the European market, urging banks to explore tokenized deposits. This shift in perspective may signal a change in the French government's approach to digital payments. Lescure expressed support for a group of European banks, including BBVA and BNP Paribas, that plan to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin in the second half of 2026, aiming to counter the dominance of US-based digital payment systems. The Minister stated, 'This is what we need, and this is what we want.' He also encouraged banks to further investigate the potential of tokenized deposits.
The current low volume of euro-pegged stablecoins compared to dollar-pegged ones was deemed 'unsatisfactory' by Lescure. This stance marks a departure from the previous strict regulatory approach, led by former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, who had expressed concerns about the potential threat of privately-issued fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies to national sovereignty. More recently, the Bank of France Governor, Francois Villeroy de Galhau, warned about the risks of stablecoins and private money, citing the potential loss of monetary sovereignty.