French Currency - The Euro
Since 1 January 2002, the Euro is the official currency of France and 11 other European Union countries - Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. The graphic symbol for the euro was inspired by the Greek letter epsilon and looks like an upper-case letter "e" with two horizontal, parallel lines across it, €. The official abbreviation is EUR on the International Standards Organisation (ISO) currency designation list. The predecessor of the EUR, the European Currency Unit (ECU) computed from a basket of national currencies of the EU countries, was used in transactions and listed in tables of exchange rates up to 31 December 1998. The exchange rates on that date remain the official rates for computation between present Euro figures and former national currency figures, which still are quoted in most Euro currency countries. The exchange rate for France is 6.55957 French francs (FRF) to the Euro (EUR).
There are seven Euro banknotes [Les billets en euros] of the same design for all 12 Euro currency countries and in seven denominations: 5,10,20,50,100,200 and 500 Euros. On the fronts of the banknotes, gateways and windows symbolise openness, whilst the reverse sides show bridges that symbolise cooperation between countries. The Euro is divided into 100 cents, and there are eight Euro coins [Les pieces en euros or centimes d'euro]: 1 and 2 Euros and 1,2,5,10,20 and 50 cents. The fronts of the coins have the same designs for all 12 countries, while the reverse sides are in specific designs for each country. French Euro coins are identified on their reverse sides by the letters 'RF', the abbreviation for the French Republic [Republique Francaise]. Two coins feature the motto of the Republic, Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite, three feature the sower [Semeuse], and three feature Marianne, an allegory for the French Republic that also appears on the former French franc coins and on postage stamps as well as in art, including a sculpture at Place de la Nation in Paris.
For further information on the Euro, contact the Central Bank concerning banknotes or the Mint concerning coins, or visit the European Central Bank website at www.euro.ecb.int for complete overviews in 11 languages.
Exchange Rates
The European Central Bank (ECB) sets daily Euro foreign exchange reference rates that in turn are used by banks across the Euro area to calculate buying and selling rates for cash and electronic exchanges to and from other currencies. In France, the Central bank makes the ECB daily reference rates available online at www.banquefrance.fr; click on Cours de change de I'Euro.
