Monetary unit of france to franc. Currency exchange in paris
Tips
The surcharge for services (12-15%) is usually automatically included in the bill in hotels, restaurants and bars ( on a separate line is not allocated), so officially no additional payments are required, however, it is considered a good form to leave a small change (change or simply rounding the bill up) to the service personnel along with the bill. In cafes and small bars, it is also customary to leave a small tip (20-50 cents for a cup of coffee, for example), even when serving at the counter. However, in different establishments and the size of the tip, and the order of their payment can sometimes vary very significantly.
In cafes, bars and some restaurants, it is cheaper to eat and drink at the counter than at the table. Usually two prices are indicated: au comptoir (at the counter) and a salle (at the table), and lunch on street tables near a restaurant or cafe is usually even more expensive (by 10-20%) than indoors.
Since wines and drinks are usually not on the menu, they are served through the bar. Accordingly, these components will be separated in the invoice, and payment for wine, for example, can be made through the bar. Local bartenders and waiters have a whole system to indicate settlement with a client. In some bars, a plate is placed on the table (the client has paid, waiting for change) or an upside-down plate (the client has paid and does not wait for change), in others the corner of the bill is folded in a special way or a mark is put on it ... Each district has its own rules, and the establishments themselves do not always clearly inform about the methods of payment, therefore it is recommended to seek advice from a guide or local residents. Non-cash means of payment are accepted in almost all bars and cafes without restrictions, however, preference is clearly given to "real money", especially if the staff sees a foreigner in front of them.
Often, the local press organizes noisy campaigns against cheating tourists in cafes and restaurants. This problem really exists, especially in places with a large flow of foreign guests, so it is recommended to carefully check the invoice before paying. However, this is typical for the most part large cities, - in the provinces, such a petty scam is still considered degrading the reputation of the institution and is rather harshly suppressed. In any case, with good service and no complaints about the bill, additional tips will not be superfluous, especially if you have to visit this institution more than once.
Price level
Oddly enough, France is not the most expensive place in Western Europe, especially if you evaluate the level of prices in numerous street restaurants and private shops. average cost hotel room in Paris, for example, it is 189 euros per night, which is cheaper than London, Copenhagen, Brussels, Amsterdam and Geneva. However, even within the same locality, prices for the same product or service can differ quite significantly depending on the area and level of the outlet, and often there is no clear relationship between the institution and the price. Bargaining is possible only in markets and in private shops - and then within reason. And at the same time, there is a whole system of discounts (seasonal, holiday, and so on) and all kinds of markups (for example, from July to August, prices in all hotels and most restaurants in tourist areas are guaranteed to increase by a third), so you should always get acquainted with terms of purchase as carefully as possible.
Almost all establishments in Paris and major resort areas are always more expensive than in the provinces. If you focus on comfortable accommodation with breakfast and lunch in restaurants and visits to some museums, it will cost about 90-100 euros per person per day. A more modest vacation with accommodation in hostels or motels, with meals in small cafes and travel by public transport will cost 50 euros per day or less (even in Paris, with a certain skill, you can find a hostel with breakfast for 18-20 euros per day). But the prices for high-class hotels practically do not have an upper limit - it all depends on the level of the institution, its location, season and guest requests.
You can dine in a small cafe for 5-15 euros, in higher-level establishments - for 15-35 euros, in an upscale restaurant - from 40 euros and above (all - without wine, with it prices will start from 50-70 euros, including service surcharge). At the same time, breakfast or lunch for one person in a decent Chinese restaurant in Paris can cost from 6 to 12 euros, but such establishments must be chosen carefully - not all of them are equal in quality of food and service (as elsewhere in Europe, here you can use a simple rule - where locals dine, it will be good for a tourist). You should beware of the establishments located around the "cult" tourist sites - they offer an excellent view, but they cannot boast of being cheap. A small bottle of water will cost approximately 50 cents, a cup of coffee - from 1 to 2.5 euros, a baguette with jam - 4.5 euros, a bottle of ordinary wine - from 4 euros, a ten-minute taxi ride - 10 euros, and so on.
By the way, the French call euro cents in the old manner - centimes. And cents are called only the US currency, pronouncing them in the American manner - "sents".
Visiting museums can significantly increase costs, although many of them (especially government ones) set aside one day a week for free access, or for half the price of a regular ticket. Also, certain benefits are provided for young people under the age of 18 (for students - up to 26 years old) and elderly people (over 60 years old), however, to confirm your status, you will need a passport or student ID. Almost always, entrance to museums and exhibitions is free for children under the age of 4 and often up to 12 years old. At the same time, many regions offer to use specialized cards and subscriptions (names and prices are different in each region), with which you can visit several cultural institutions at once with a decent discount or even free of charge. Also, various "open days" are not uncommon, during which you can visit cultural sites for free. Usually they fall on the off-season and do not have the most convenient schedule, but often this is the only opportunity to visit certain museums at no extra cost.
Immediately after Christmas (usually starting from January 4-7) and at the end of June (usually on the last Wednesday of the month), all shops in France are organizing huge sales of goods at discount prices. In some large retail chains discounts can go up to 70% (do not forget the possibility of returning 12% VAT when leaving the country), but on average fluctuate around 30-50% (during the rest of the year, stores are prohibited from massively reducing prices for goods). The usual duration of sales is 5 weeks. The exact dates (and times) of the start and end of the sales are set by the government, in different departments of France they may differ by a couple of days or even a week. Tourist offices and bureaus even publish specialized guides for each year, which include sales schedules, addresses and store descriptions. In addition, many hotels and restaurants also offer discounts and special offers during this period, which allows for some additional savings.
Banks and currency exchange
Banks are open from Monday to Saturday from 9:00 to 12:00 and from 14:00 to 17:00. On the eve of weekends and holidays, banks close early (usually at noon), sometimes they do not work all day after the holiday. In Paris, bank offices are usually open on weekdays from 10.00 to 17.00 or from 9.30 to 16.00, closed on Saturday, Sunday and holidays... In the provinces, banks are open from Tuesday to Saturday. The break, as a rule, is from 13.00 to 15.00, on the eve of holidays they also close earlier than usual. Currency exchange offices are open daily from 9.00 to 18.00, closed on Sunday.
Money can be exchanged at banks, exchange offices (bureaux de change, located at train stations, airports, tourist offices and on the central streets of most large cities, almost never found in the provinces), in most transport agencies, hotels and travel agencies. According to local law, shops and hotels are not allowed to accept as payment foreign currency... Bank exchange offices must have a notice outside. The exchange rate and commission in each bank are different - often the office declares a free (no commission) currency exchange, compensating for it with a low exchange rate, or vice versa. Post offices can also exchange currency and cash travel checks and sometimes even offer best rate exchange than large banks... Exchange offices at airports, hotels and train stations do not offer the most favorable rate, plus a certain fixed percentage is usually taken for the operation, but their opening hours are quite convenient. Exchange of US dollars in recent times significantly complicated - most exchange offices take up to 8-15% commission for transactions with them, although this is not indicated anywhere.
The cheapest and convenient way currency exchange in France - through ATMs (here they are usually denoted DAB, Distributeur, or Point argent), which usually accept cards of all major international payment systems and bank cards... It is usually recommended to use a credit card for purchases, and a debit card for withdrawing cash from an ATM, but this rule is not universal, so you need to consult on the terms of service of international cards with bank employees on the spot. Since the transaction fee is charged for almost all actions with the card, it is more efficient to withdraw large amounts one-time instead of many small withdrawals. Many local ATMs work only with four-digit PIN-codes and are often unable to carry out transactions with several accounts at once (especially foreign ones), therefore, before traveling, it is better to consult about the terms of service of the card at the office of the issuing bank.
Almost all shops, restaurants and hotels accept French (chip) cards and their foreign counterparts as payment (Visa and Mastercard are accepted everywhere, American Express is usually served only in high-class establishments). French bank cards have a special smart chip that allows you to instantly identify the bearer of the card and the state of his account, so many banks and institutions prefer to work with just such cards. And many vending machines (ticket, transport, etc.) almost universally accept only microchip cards for payment. In addition, most cashiers are so accustomed to their system that they may simply not know that foreign Visa or Mastercards must be rolled, and the client must sign the check (while for most cards issued in France itself, the client uses a PIN- code instead of the signature on the check). Some small establishments also do not accept foreign (without a chip) cards at all or work with them only within a certain amount.
Travel checks are easy to cash at any bank or exchange office, especially in big cities and tourist centers. Many banks also offer a noticeably more favorable rate for them than for cash currency... Post offices that also exchange travel checks usually offer the best rates. By the way, in France on post offices should pay close attention. In many small cities, they often perform banking functions, have ATMs and cash desks, as a result, they allow you to work with foreign credit cards and checks even far from large cities.
VAT and tax-free
VAT (TVA) in France ranges from 5.5% (food) to 19.6% ( average rate), although for luxury goods it reaches 33%.
VAT refunds for citizens of non-EU countries are possible when purchasing goods in one Tax Free store (at the entrance there must be an announcement of Global Refund Tax Free Shopping or Tax Free For Tourists) for an amount exceeding 175 euros. When buying, you must show your passport and write down the purchased goods for individual items in a special receipt or check (bordereau de d "taxe, issued by the store) indicating the price and amount of tax. In the receipt (usually drawn up on three sheets and is valid for three months after the date purchase), you need to sign and put the stamp of the store.Then it is attached to the goods at the customs office at the exit, where a special stamp is also affixed.
Most often, the tax refund itself is carried out in a separate window with the announcement of TVA, Global Refund Office, Cash Refund Office or Tax Free Refund at the airport or at another border crossing point. The VAT refund procedure is quite lengthy, in some cases it will be necessary to present all purchased goods along with receipts, so it is necessary to provide some time for it. Refunds are made both in cash (when contacting the Global Refund window) and by transfer to a bank account or credit card - in this case, one copy of the receipt from the store with a customs stamp must be simply dropped into any of the mailboxes at the airport (usually there is a special box near Global Refund windows, shipping is free). If tax refund not received within three months, you must contact the store from which the purchase was made, but not the French customs authorities. You can also contact the French consulate, where, upon presentation of air tickets, receipts and a list of goods, you can get a special seal that the fact of registration and import of goods complies with the established procedures, but for this you will need to pay a fee of $ 21, so these actions are practically not practiced.
Taxes paid on food and drinks, tobacco, medicines, alcohol, precious stones are not refundable, vehicles(except sports equipment), weapons and services.
Officially, all purchased goods at the time of registration of the VAT refund must be in the package, but in practice this requirement is almost not met.
When planning visits to financial institutions and currency exchange offices, keep in mind that the average bank is open from 10 to 17 hours, and exchange offices are usually open from 9:00 to 18:00. Changing currency in France is less profitable than in the Russian Federation, so you should think about the exchange in advance and take euros with you, not dollars or rubles. The most profitable are French exchangers with a “nocommission” sign, but they are not common.
When entering the country, large amounts of cash, over 10 thousand euros, are subject to mandatory declaration. This amount includes not only banknotes, but also promissory notes, traveler's checks, stocks and other securities.
Payment by credit card can be produced in a store, in a restaurant, at an automatic gas station and even in a taxi. You cannot do without cash unless you buy it from your hands, for example, at a flea market.
It is best to take a card with the main currency of the euro. When paying with ruble and dollar cards, money is lost on conversion and commissions.
Almost any card, credit or debit, in dollars, euros or rubles is suitable for settlements. But problems may arise with constructively and morally obsolete bank cards with a magnetic stripe. Not all stores will be able to pay with such cards; problems may arise with payment at an automatic refueling station, and with receiving cash from an ATM.
Commemorative coins of French minting
By 2016, the EU countries had issued about 250 different commemorative coins with a face value of two euros. France did not stand aside either. General form coins, with the exception of the image in the central part of the obverse, is unified. All of them are minted with a diameter of 25.75 mm, a thickness of 2.2 mm and a weight of 8.5 grams. The bezel and the inside of the banknote are made of different materials.
The outer part, with EU stars, is made of a copper-nickel alloy (75% - copper, 25% - nickel), the inner, with the main image - from nickel brass, with the addition of zinc (75% - copper, 20% - zinc, 5 % - nickel). The bezel is “silver” and the core is “gold” because zinc gives the alloy a golden color.
Commemorative coins should not be confused with commemorative coins. If the latter are minted using precious metals(silver, gold and platinum) are produced in small quantities and initially have both a higher cost price and a significantly higher sales value, then commemorative coins are issued in significant editions and get to numismatists and souvenir hunters at a more modest price, from a face value of up to 5-6 euros maximum.
The circulation of commemorative banknotes usually ranges from one million to 20 million copies. This indicator does not significantly affect the price of coins. All coins can be conditionally divided into “specialized”, local-French and general European or worldwide.
"Local" banknotes, as a rule, are issued in smaller editions. So, 2 euros for the centenary of the birth of Abbot Pierre or 150 years since the birth of Pierre de Coubertin were issued in the amount of one million copies. Circulation of coins for the decade of the economic and monetary European Union, for the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome and for the decade cash circulation euro is 10 million copies. The rest of the banknotes dedicated to European and global events and anniversaries are also minted in quantities from 10 to 20 million.
Some of the coins are distinguished by the presence of a national component, but of a more global significance. This is 2 euros for the 70th anniversary of Charles de Gaulle's address “To all Frenchmen”, 30 years of Music Day in France, 50 years of Franco-German friendship. All these coins were issued in mintage from 9,400,000 to 10,200,000.
Visually, the commemorative money of the French coinage looks quite attractive, starting with the image of the charismatic barbel Pierre de Coubertin or the bearded Abbe Pierre, and ending with the usual inscription, without a picture, on the 2008 French Presidency of the EU coin and a schematic image of a man next to the euro sign on the coin in honor of the tenth anniversary of the monetary union of the countries of Europe.
The historical features of the formation of France as a state have had a significant impact on the history of the development of French money and coins. Until the middle of the XIV century, France did not have its own monetary unit, a monetary system was based on the circulation of denarii - Roman gold coins.
Old French Coins: History of Origin
After the fall of Rome in the V Art. and the formation of the state of the Franks, the Roman coin gradually goes out of circulation due to damage and erasure, and on the territory of France they begin to mint their own French coins: first silver, and soon gold.
After monetary reform Charlemagne in France, counting monetary units appear.
For large sums, the account of money went in livres, sous and denarii. The Frankish kings strove to centralize the minting of coins.
Gradually, the royal coinage fell into decay, and the specific kings switched to the issue of each of their own coins.
Medieval coins of France
For the first time, the generally accepted state monetary unit appeared at the beginning of the Hundred Years War (1360). These were francs - gold coins with the image of the king and the Latin inscription FRANCORUM REX (from the Latin king of the Franks).
On the coin, the king was depicted on horseback, so the people called it the "equestrian" franc. When King Charles V began to mint a coin depicting the king in his full height, it became known as the "foot" franc.
The gold franc was produced until the middle of the 15th century, and during the reign of Louis XI it was supplanted by the gold ecu.
In 1575-1586, they began to issue a silver franc weighing 14.188 g. The minting of francs from silver of the 833th test continued until 1642.
The issue of coins was carried out and controlled by the cities of medieval France. At the same time, aristocrats began to mint their own coins. The so-called Anglo-Gallic coins appeared in the territories subject to England.
Coins of the 17th - 19th centuries
In the middle of the 17th century, the silver ecu temporarily took the leading position in money circulation France. Later, the monetary system was the "golden ecu" decimal system, when 1 franc was equal to 10 decims (or 100 centimes). The five gram 1 franc coin contained 4.5 grams of pure silver. Coins were issued in denominations of 5 francs, 2 francs, 1 franc, ½ and ¼ francs, which were later supplemented with gold coins in denominations of 100, 50, 40, 20, 10 and 5 francs.
During the period of the First Republic, the law of August 15, 1795 approved the national currency - the franc.
Bimetallism existed in France for almost the entire 19th century. The law provided for the free minting of gold and silver coins with the main legal tender. The value ratio of silver and gold is taken as 1: 15.5, respectively.
At the same time, paper francs began to be printed, which depreciated in three years, and the hard currency was finally approved at the state level.
Gold and silver coins of France
In 1800, by order of Napoleon Bonaparte, the Bank of France was created, which had the exclusive right to issue money. After 65 years, the Paris Convention was signed, as a result of which the Latin Union was formed, uniting the monetary systems of France, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, and later Greece and Finland.
The basis for the creation of the Union was the recognition of the French franc as a value standard for the minting of silver coins of the same mass and denomination by all participating countries. The monetary units of the countries of the Latin Union were characterized by the same metal content, which was 0.29 g of pure gold and 4.5 g of silver.
Silver and gold coins on legal basis were subject to free circulation as the main means of payment on the territory of all countries of the Latin Union. At the same time, the monetary units of each country had their own name, but retained equal parity. So, 1 French franc was equal to 1 Belgian franc and 1 Swiss franc.
Excessive release paper money in France and Italy provoked the instability of the Union. There was a sharp decline market value silver, and soon, when exchanging devalued silver coins, the participating countries suffered a loss of gold.
The minting of silver coins was discontinued, and in 1873-1926 the Latin Union existed in the regime of gold monometallism. During the First World War and in the post-war period, changes took place in the monetary policy of the countries participating in the Latin Union, which led to the collapse of the Union and the transition to a new stage in the development of the monetary system directly in France.
During the war, gold coins were replaced with banknotes to finance government military spending. The stabilization of the franc took place only in 1926 after the monetary reform, the essence of which was the exchange of banknotes for bullion gold at par.
In 1928, France switched to the gold bullion standard, which lasted until 1936.
During the Second World War, there was an increase in banknote emission, devaluation and denomination of the franc. From now on, the new franc received a content of 0.18 g of pure gold and was equal to 100 old ones.
Modern coins of France
The post-war period in France was characterized by numerous attempts to "rehabilitate" the economy to reduce inflation, which ultimately led to the emergence and development of a paper-credit monetary system.
The modern monetary system in France has gone through two stages of its development.
1. Circulation of the franc (before 2002).
During this period, money was issued: Central bank France, some financial institutions, the Ministry of Finance. Responsibility for conducting a single monetary policy was entrusted to the Central Bank of France.
There is a decrease in the number of banknotes and bargaining chip in circulation and a simultaneous increase in demand deposits on current accounts, credit cards.
2. Transition to a single currency - the euro.
Since January 2002, the French franc has been withdrawn from circulation. A single European currency, the euro, appears.
At the moment, France is a member of the European Economic Community, is actively involved in all reforms.
The only legal tender is the euro.
Marianne - a symbol of free France - VIDEO
Marianne- the national symbol of France since 1972. Depicted as a young woman in a Phrygian cap. She is the personification of the national motto of France "Freedom, Equality, Brotherhood". Sculptural images of Marianne are an obligatory attribute of government institutions, courts, municipalities, and so on. Before the introduction of the euro, images of Marianne were placed on centimes and francs, now they can be seen on euro cents (1, 2, 5) of the French coinage.
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France is a participating country. Monetary unit - euro - equal to 100 euro cents.
Until January 1, 2002, the cash currency of France was francs - equal to 100 centimes. Nominal range national currency France was represented by banknotes in denominations of 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 francs.
The French franc was introduced into circulation in 1799 instead of the livre, which was divided into 20 sous and 240 deniers. Since 1803, a bimetallic monetary system existed in France with a gold content of a franc of 0.290323 g of pure gold and a silver content of 4.5 g of pure silver.
From 1865 to 1926, France headed the Latin Monetary Union - a convention concluded between France, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland and Greece, which provided for a functioning uniform monetary system in these countries based on bimetallism based on the official ratio between gold and silver that existed in France. The monetary units of the countries that were part of this union had the same metal content - 0.290323 g of pure gold and 4.5 g of pure silver, gold and silver coins of all countries - members of the union could circulate as legal tender in any of these countries.
During the First World War and especially in the post-war years, there was a sharp depreciation of the French franc - by almost 90%. On the basis of the law of June 5, 1928, its gold content was reduced from 0.290323 to 0.05895 g of pure gold.
Since 1933, France led the so-called Gold Bloc, which, in addition to France, included Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy and Poland, pledging to provide mutual assistance to preserve the gold standard in these countries. Under the influence of the currency crisis, the Gold Bloc began to disintegrate and was liquidated in 1936.
After the surrender of France on May 17, 1940, tickets in occupation stamps began to circulate in the occupied territory. The ratio of the occupation mark to the French franc was set at an underestimated level by the occupation authorities. After the liberation of France, from June 4 to June 15, 1945, all circulating banknotes with a denomination of 50 francs or more were exchanged at a ratio of 1: 1 without limiting the amount.
Following the US termination of the exchange of dollars for gold in France, on 23 August 1971, a double currency market... The double currency market persisted until March 20, 1974.From April 24, 1972 to January 19, 1974, and from July 10, 1975 to March 15, 1976, France participated in a system of narrowed limits of mutual exchange rates member countries " Common market". Since March 13, 1979 France is a member of the European Monetary System.
On the obverse of the last series of banknotes before being replaced by the euro, prominent people of France are depicted, such as: 20 francs - Claude Debussy (1862-1918), French composer and music critic; 50 francs - Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900-1944), French writer, poet, pilot; 100 francs - Paul Cezanne (1839-1906), French painter, post-impressionist.
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200 francs - Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923), French engineer, author of the tower in Paris, later named after him; 500 francs - Pierre (1859-1906) and Maria (1867-1934) Curie, husband and wife, physicists, the first researchers of radioactivity.
Like any member of the European Community, France also had its own currency before the advent of the common European monetary system. The French franc was official currency France before the introduction of the euro in this European country, that is, before January 1, 1999. Together with the euro, it was in circulation until February 17, 2002.
History of the appearance of the French franc
The history of the French franc, as the currency of France before the euro, is quite long. The franc was first introduced into circulation in 1360 by the French king Jean II the Good in honor of his release from English captivity, which he fell into after the battle of Poitiers in 1356. The first French coins weighed 3.87 grams.
This money was in circulation in France for almost 3 centuries until the French king Louis XIII in 1641 canceled these coins and introduced new "golden Louis" and "ecu" (from the French "coat of arms"). Nevertheless, the people continued to use the word "franc" for the name of new coins.
Times of the French Revolution
V late XVIII century, the Great Revolution began in France. In 1795, at the National Convention, the franc was again officially reinstated and designated as the official coin of France.
In 1800, the Bank of France is created, and the official national currency of France demonstrates its stability. Since 1803, the French franc has been based not only on gold, but also on silver, while the value of a gold franc was 15 times the value of silver coins. The stability of the gold franc was very high, throughout the 19th century and until the beginning of the 20th century, it remained one of the most reliable currencies in Europe. Beginning in 1808, the Banque de France begins to issue not only coins, but also paper money tickets.
Currency of France during World Wars I and II
The stability of the gold franc was undermined by the First and then the Second World Wars. The shortage of food during the war, as well as the reconstruction of the country, which was carried out at the expense of an unjustified large output money supply, led to inflation and a fall in the price of the French currency. So, purchasing power France's currency fell to 70% from 1915 to 1920 and to 43% from 1922 to 1926. The huge payments that Germany was obliged to make after the defeat in the war did not lead to the strengthening of the French economy.
In 1928, Raymond Puncare wins the election and becomes Prime Minister of France. From this year, the Poincaré franc is introduced into circulation, which had a value of 20% of the gold franc of the beginning of the 20th century. From 1928 to 1936, the French monetary system returned to the gold standard, but the French currency continued to lose its value. The ensuing Second World War, during which most of France was occupied by Germany, and the post-war period only exacerbated the situation to such an extent that in 1959 the franc was worth less than 2.5% of its value in 1936.
New franc and euro
In January 1960, due to the complete depreciation of old banknotes, a new French franc was created, the value of which was estimated at 100 old francs. All the old currencies continued to circulate, and the abbreviation NF appeared on the new francs. This measure contributed to the relative stabilization of the national currency of France, which in the second half of the 20th century was characterized by the same slow inflation as for most European countries. In 2002, when the country completely abandoned its currency and finally switched to the euro, the new French franc was worth less than 12.5% of its original value.
Many French people of a certain age group continued to perform calculations of their sums of money in francs. During the introduction of the euro, there was a lot of speculation in the exchange of old and new currency units for the European currency. Starting from January 1, 1999, the French currency exchange rate was fixed: for 6.56 francs they gave 1 euro. For ease of exchange of these currencies, they use the following formula: they add exactly half to the amount of available francs, and then divide the resulting number by 10, in the end they get the equivalent amount in euros with an error of 1.6%.
Note that the introduction of the euro did not lead to the complete disappearance of the franc as a valid monetary unit. It survived in the French-controlled island territories of New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna. In these territories, the so-called Pacific franc operates, which has the following value relative to the euro: 1000 francs = 8.38 euros.
French coins
Knowing what currency was in France before the euro was approved, we will give a description of the French franc coins, which have a very beautiful coinage. There were coins of 1, 5, 10 and 20 centimes, as well as 1/2, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 100 francs. Until 1965, the 1/2 franc coin was not issued, and instead the 50 centimes currency was used. The 10 franc coin began to be issued only in 1974. Since 1966, 5 centimes also began to be produced with a new design and in a new metal (aluminum bronze). Until 1966, it was minted from stainless steel.
Almost all coins have agricultural designs. On metal banknotes of various prices, you can see images of ears of wheat and a girl performing sowing work. Only the 10, 20 and 100 franc coins show a different theme. So, 10 francs depicts the Genius of Liberty, 20 francs - Mont Saint-Michel, and 100 francs - the Pantheon in Paris.
French bills
Before the euro appeared in money turnover France, there were French banknotes with the following face value: 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 francs. The famous French composer Claude Debussy is depicted on the brown 20-franc bill, the French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry on the blue 50 bill, the orange 100 franc bill shows a portrait of the French artist Paul Cezanne, the red 200 franc bill depicts the world famous engineer Gustave Eiffel, and on the green 500-franc bill you can see the scientists Marie and Pierre Curie.