French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said on Friday that Europe needs more stablecoins issued in euros and that banks in EU countries must explore tokenized deposits, Reuters reported.
The statements signal a possible shift in stance within the French government and its central bank.
Lescure expressed support for Qivalis. Qivalis, a group of 12 European banks including BBVA, ING, UniCredit and BNP Paribas, plans to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin in the second half of 2026, hoping the move will counter U.S. dominance in digital payments.
“This is what we need, this is what we want,” Lescure said. “I would also strongly encourage banks to further explore the launch of tokenized deposits.”
He also said that the relatively small number of euro-pegged stablecoins compared to dollar-pegged stablecoins is “unsatisfactory.”
Former Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has spearheaded a strict regulatory stance on privately issued fiat-backed cryptocurrencies, saying they have “no place on European soil” and pose a threat to “national sovereignty.” In 2023, Rummel was linked to an EU document that revealed the European Commission’s plans to prevent stablecoins from being widely used as alternatives to fiat currencies.
During a recent live confrontation with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong over stablecoins and yields, French Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau warned that stablecoins and tokenized private money could accelerate what he described as a political threat. “The first threat is the privatization of currencies and the loss of monetary sovereignty,” he added.
