French franc from 1795 to 2002 - the main monetary unit of France. Already on February 17, 2002, the French franc ceased to exist, like , and was completely replaced by the euro.
There are 10 decimes or 100 centimes in one franc.
Origin of the franc
The name of the monetary unit, unlike a number of other currencies, does not come from a measure of weight. From the beginning of 1360, the French franc already existed as a currency. The gold coin “franc” received its name thanks to the main enemy of France at that time – England. Translated from French"franc" means "free". This name was given in honor of the release of King John II from captivity during the period Hundred Years' War. At the same time, the currency was useful for ransoming the British.
There is a second version of the origin of the word “franc”. Scientists have found its roots in Latin phrase"FRANCORVM REX", meaning "king of the Franks". This phrase was often printed on coins even before the appearance of the monetary unit.
History of the franc
The history of French currency dates back to the 14th century:
1360- The first gold franc was minted. The main impetus for the release of new money was the release of John the Good from English captivity. The coin was called the “horse franc”. On the obverse there was an image of a king with a sword. The weight of the coin was 3.885 grams. One franc was equal to the Turkish lira and 240 deniers.
1365- the minting of a new coin began - the “foot franc”, on the obverse of which a king was depicted standing in one place. The weight of the new coin was less and was about 3.8 grams.
1461- the end of the reign of Louis XI, after which the era of new coins began - gold ecus.
1575– the French franc was minted from silver. The weight of the new coin was 14.188 grams. For one such coin you could get 240 dinniers, 20 soles or one livre.
1586– the production of the silver franc ceased, but some coins continued to be minted until 1642.
By the middle of the 17th century The silver franc went out of circulation and was replaced by the silver ecu.
1799- Napoleon's rise to power. It started working under his leadership. Annual revenues to the treasury from taxes amounted to almost 660 million francs.
1801– managed to reduce the budget deficit to a minimum level and cover part of the public debt.
1803- the first new francs were issued, which maintained their price until 1914. The gold content size was 0.2903 grams. At the same time as the new franc, the old louis d'or was replaced, which was replaced by an updated coin - the louis d'or.
1848– the financial crisis, as a result of which the so-called “forced exchange rate” was introduced. From this point on, banking institutions could refuse to exchange banknotes for coins. At the same time, free was replaced by legal, when individuals and financial institutions pledged to take paper bills as a means of making payments.
1850– “legal” and “forced” courses were abolished.
1865- Latin created. The initiator is France. It included four states - Switzerland, Italy, Belgium and France. It was agreed that the currencies would be brought to the so-called “bimetallic” standard. From this year, the ratio of silver to gold became 15.5 to one, that is, for every 4.5 grams of silver there was 0.29 grams of gold.
1868- joining the union of Greece and Spain.
1869– accession to the union of San Marino, Serbia, Bulgaria and a number of other states.
1870- the beginning of the war. Both courses (legal and compulsory) have been reintroduced.
1873– the price of silver fell, so the issue of silver coins had to be abandoned. In essence, there was a smooth transition to the gold standard.
1885– the Russian imperial (15 rubles) was equal to 40 francs, and the semi-imperial (7.5 rubles) was equal to 20 francs.
1906- the production of the 100 franc coin began.
1914- the first bills of five, ten and twenty francs appeared; exchange for coins was prohibited.
1920– The Latin Monetary Union collapsed, but on paper it ceased to exist seven years later, in 1927.
1928– the exchange of paper francs resumed again.
1929- the beginning of the financial crisis. Financial system based on the gold standard was destroyed.
1936– exchange for gold has been completely stopped.
1939– a monetary union (franc zone) was formed.
1942- the beginning of the release of new coins ranging from five centimes to five francs.
1944– new banknotes in denominations ranging from two to five hundred francs are in circulation. The exchange rate to the dollar is 50 francs.
1948- the beginning of the implementation of the Marshall Plan. In the same year the franc occurred.
1950– new coins with denominations of up to 100 francs and a banknote of 10,000 francs were introduced. An agreement was reached on the continuation of the franc zone.
1958– the franc to dollar exchange rate reached 420. A decision was made to carry out a new devaluation.
1960– a stable franc was introduced. Laos, Guinea, Syria, Lebanon, Cambodia and a number of other countries left the “franc zone”.
1962– Mali left the franc zone.
1963- the monetary unit began to be called the franc (without the prefix “new”).
1968– capital flight from the country led to a sharp decline in gold and foreign exchange reserves.
1969 - devaluation of the franc, the rate fell from 4.9 to 5.55 francs per dollar.
1970– The European Community introduced a new international currency, the ECU, which played the role of a means of payment in parallel with the franc.
1973– Madagascar and Mauritania left the “franc zone”.
Since 1962, various French coins have been issued, many of which remained in circulation until recent days.
Also, since 1960, banknotes have been issued in denominations from 5 to 500 euros.
1999– the euro came into circulation. The new currency circulated in parallel with the euro.
2002– the French franc went out of circulation. At the same time, the exchange of ecus for euros was carried out.
Switching from franc to euro: consequences
Until 16:30 on February 17, 2012, everyone could exchange their out-of-circulation French francs for euros. On February 18, 2012, France went out of circulation. French francs became of interest only to collectors.
Official exchange rate at the time of transition– 6.55957 francs per 1 euro:
- for 20 francs – 3.05 euros;
- for 50 francs – 7.62 euros;
- for 100 francs – 15.24 euros;
- for 200 francs – 30.49 euros;
- for 500 francs - 76.22 euros.
All French francs withdrawn from circulation were collected, pressed and burned.
On the first day, the country's ATMs and banks dispensed hundreds of millions of euros in cash. But the French delight quickly gave way to disappointment. Food prices have increased significantly compared to the level of December 31 last year. But this was only a small fly in the ointment.
Consequences of switching to the euro:
The European Central Bank established its work and pursued a uniform policy for all EU countries. But the ECB's activities have been repeatedly criticized. In particular, a number of countries were required to increase interest rates(Portugal, Spain and Ireland). France was among those countries that were forced to reduce the rate. As a result, business growth rates fell. Subsequently, the transition to the euro led to an increase in the unemployment rate;
- the fixed policy has changed. Now the budget deficits of each country were clearly regulated by an agreement between the countries (the Stability and Growth Pact). The participants' task is to maintain a low budget deficit. For France, this was a blow, because an increase in the budget deficit could stimulate the economy. In turn, financiers calculated that reducing the budget deficit to 1% of GDP leads to a decrease in economic growth rates by almost two percent;
- the volume of investments in shares has increased, which had a positive impact on the work of French companies and the overall economic growth of the country;
- French export volumes increased and against the backdrop of investor interest in the European currency;
-growth of public debt to GDP continued after the transition to the euro. The introduction of a single currency only made the situation worse;
- active inflow of funds intensified into the country's banking system, which contributed to the growth of consumer spending. Thus, the transition from the French franc to the euro in some way saved the country from the economic recession of 2002;
Decreased by more than two times.
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France - franc
France has its own currency, which is not of great importance in the world, but nevertheless it is an official and national currency.
It is worth talking about such a currency as the franc, this is a former unit of France that existed in the period from 1960 to 1641, the so-called small coins that had a denomination of one lira. It was this franc that was introduced within the decimal system in 1795 and remained the national currency until the introduction of the euro in 1999.
King Jean introduced this currency to everyone in 1930, that is, the franc currency, the name of this monetary unit came from the inscription that concerned Jean, by the Grace of God, King of the Franks (Johannes Dei Gratia Francorum Rexand). Franks were later published during the reigns of Charles V, Henry III and Henry IV.
Louis XIII quickly stopped the production of the franc and already in 1641 he replaced the franc with the ecu and louis d'or, but the word franc continued to exist fully as a synonym for the Tours livre.
And only the French revolutionary convention, through violent action in 1795, established the national currency of France, which naturally became the franc.
1 franc = 10 tithes = 100 centimes and is equal to almost five grams of silver.
It is also worth pointing out the emergence of such a currency as the Germinal Franc (named after the seventh month in the revolutionary calendar), the currency appeared in 1803, and was a gold coin, which, by the way, was actually made of pure gold. It was from this year that gold and silver coins gained great popularity and were constantly in use; such coins did not change and were not sold. The system of such a monetary unit lasted until 1864, when all silver coins, with the exception of the five franc, were changed from 90 percent to 83.5 percent without changing the total weight. The currency was retained during the Bourbon restoration.
In 1865, France became one of the founding countries of the Latin Monetary Union, and a common monetary unit was formed, which was based on the franc-germinal, in addition, the name franc was already used in Belgium and Switzerland, and at this time other countries used their names for their currencies The monetary union in 1873 established a gold standard of 1 franc = 9/31 grams of gold.
The war was able to force France to completely abandon its gold standard, in addition, a huge irreparable inflation took place throughout the country, and there was a need to reconstruct the monetary unit, such a reconstruction was carried out and financed by the production of even more money, which reduced the purchasing power of the franc to the level 70% from 1915 to 1920, and then to 43% from 1922 to 1926. After short return By the time of the gold standard, the currency began to lose value again, until in 1959 it was worth forty times less than its 1934 value.
It is also worth saying that the franc became a companion currency to the German Reichsmark.
In the winter of 1960, the French franc itself was completely revalued at the new 100 francs.
However, this did not mean the complete death of the old franc; one and two francs still continued their widespread use; at that difficult time, inflation occurred which quite significantly reduced the exchange rate of the franc in relation to all other currencies. One centime coins never circulated in widespread use. There was another devaluation after this, in 1968, before the Breton Woods system was replaced by three moving exchange rates.
Over time, the old francs fell out of use and the euro moment occurred, that is, the old money was no longer significant, after a complete revaluation of the franc, many French continued to say "old francs" (anciens francs) to describe large sums of money. This all happened before 2002, it was in this year that many became accustomed to the introduction of euro banknotes.
On January 1, 1999, the new currency of modern France, that is, the euro, was fully adopted, which is the official currency of many countries such as Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia , Finland, France. That is, this particular currency has become a single currency that is used by more than 320 million Europeans, and together with the territories of unofficial circulation - by 500 million people. It is also worth saying that this currency has significantly exceeded the demand for the dollar, thus becoming even more popular and in demand; this particular currency can be found in all cities and countries. Many people understand that it is worth investing their capital in such a reliable currency as the dollar or euro. The euro was introduced to global financial markets as a currency of account in 1999, and banknotes and coins were introduced into cash circulation on January 1, 2002. The Euro replaced the European currency unit.
The currency itself, that is, the euro, is managed and administered by the European Central Bank, which is located in Frankfurt, and the European System of Central Banks, this system consists of the central banks of the Eurozone member countries.
Currently in France and in everyday life, the euro consists of 100 cents, which are sometimes called eurocents. All euro coins, including the 2 euro commemorative coins, have one common side, on which the denomination of the coin is indicated against a background of an image of the 16 countries of the Eurozone. On the reverse side there is a rather interesting image, which may indicate the country in which the coin was minted; these coins can be used in all countries that recognize the euro as a currency.
Euro coins are issued in denominations of €2, €1, €0.50, €0.20, €0.10, €0.05, €0.02 and €0.01. Many shops in the Eurozone prefer to align prices so that they are multiples of 5 cents, and 1 and 2 euro cent coins are not needed.
But the franc banknotes have a completely common design; banknotes are issued for €500, €200, €100, €50, €20, €10 and €5. Some higher denomination notes, such as the €500 and €200, are not issued in some countries but are legal tender everywhere.
That is, coins and banknotes in France are currently the euro, which is quite popular not only in France.
All monetary units, although they have almost the same design, still differ quite greatly from each other, which is why it is worth noting that there is no brightness or flashiness and all the money in France has an almost identical color and the same size.
1 Kuna = 100 Lipams
International designation: Kh, HRK
Denomination of banknotes in circulation: 1000, 500, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5 kn
Denomination of coins in circulation: 1, 2, 5 kuna and 10, 20, 50 lipa
Story
Although the currency of this country is not very popular, it is still quite stable for a small country. The country's economy has a fairly progressive development.
But it’s worth telling everything in more detail.
It is worth considering that for quite a long period of time, several currencies of other countries were in circulation in the country, which were imported.
In addition, the territory also had its own monetary system, which took the form of coins. The coins were printed in the same sample, from noble metals, that is, gold, silver, copper and nickel. It is worth considering that in those days many countries used the country’s coin reserves. But in Croatia there soon began to be a significant shortage of banknotes. The country had no experience in producing banknotes, but nevertheless it was decided to print currency on the territory of the country.
Yet no one expected that the currency produced in such a country could be as high quality and bladeless as it turned out to be.
Thanks to its superbly executed design, the currency gained fame almost instantly. It was practically impossible to counterfeit such currency.
But everything is worth saying that the currency has reached our time in a slightly modified form, since modification was carried out after the country gained independence. Naturally, the modification made the currency even more popular, since the design was slightly changed, and several security elements of the latest developments were added.
The currency is popular and stable; in addition, it is worth noting that the exchange rate against the dollar has not changed for a long time.
Banking systems of the world. Banking system of England
The banking system is a set of different types of banks and banking institutions and their relationships that exist in a particular country during a certain historical period.
Banking systems are used to solve current and strategic problems:
ensuring economic growth;
regulation of inflation;
regulation of the balance of payments.
A characteristic feature of the banking system is, along with the concentration of banks, their fairly broad specialization in the form of central (emission), commercial, investment, mortgage, savings and others. Hence, on the one hand, the competitive struggle of banks to attract resources, for a reliable and profitable clientele, for high incomes, on the other hand, the desire to strengthen state regulation of the activities of banks (in relation to clientele, bank interest, etc.)
Modern credit and banking systems have a complex, multi-link structure. If we take as the basis for the classification the nature of the services that financial sector institutions provide to their clients, we can distinguish three most important elements of the credit system:
central (bank of issue);
commercial banks;
specialized financial institutions (insurance, savings, etc.).
In the course of historical development, segmented and universal banking systems emerged.
A segmented system presupposes a strict legislative division of the areas of operating activities and functions of certain types of financial institutions. Similar structures have developed, for example, in the USA and Japan.
With a universal structure, the law does not contain restrictions regarding certain types of transactions and areas of financial services. All financial institutions can carry out any types of transactions and provide clients with a full range of services. This type of universal banks has developed in Great Britain. Plays a major role in the functioning of the banking sector high degree self-control of financial institutions, their strict adherence to customs and traditions developed by the banking community.
Interweaving Functions various types credit institutions and the popularity of the universal type of bank creates certain difficulties in defining the concepts of “bank” and “banking activity”. Most often, the main feature of banking activity is considered to be accepting deposits and issuing loans as a professional activity. This is the practice adopted in the banking legislation of Belgium, Italy, Spain, Greece, Luxembourg and other countries. In some other countries (Germany, France), the term “bank” or “credit institution” is associated with a wider range of services and is not limited only to accepting savings and issuing loans. In some countries, such as the UK, it is sufficient to merely perform a deposit-taking function to qualify as a credit institution. This allows us to equate some types of specialized institutions with banks.
UK banking statistics divide all financial institutions into two groups: the banking sector itself and non-banking financial institutions.
Table 1: UK financial institutions
Monetary system France
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Abstract >> State and lawAbroad. Monetary unit. Monetary unit- French franc. Religion. The main religion in France is Catholicism... which is mainly spoken by the older generation. Monetary unit, in circulation - French franc.Traces...
Cash units Germany
Abstract >> FinanceGermany ……………………………………………………… 4 1.2 Deutsche Mark ………………………………………………………. 5 Euro – monetary unit modern Germany ………………….. 17 Euro – single... The Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, France). The currency is also used in 9 more countries...
Pacific overseas territories of France- a number of archipelagos and island groups in the South Pacific Ocean. They include New Caledonia island with adjacent islands and reefs, Wallis and Futuna Islands And French polynesia.
New Caledonia Island with a group of small adjacent islands and reefs (in official sources it sounds like an overseas special administrative-territorial entity of France New Caledonia) is located in the southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean, called Malanesia.
The island of New Caledonia does not have land borders with any of the states or territorial entities of the region, which in itself is quite natural, but it has quite a lot of sea borders according to the division of maritime economic zones. Thus, in the southwest it has borders with an economic zone, which is created and defined by the remote islands that belong to it, territorial waters adjoin to the north, and Fiji to the southeast.
The territory of New Caledonia is hilly and mountainous, which indicates the volcanic origin of the island. The coast is heavily indented by coral reefs, part of a fairly extended reef ridge. The area of New Caledonia exceeds 18 thousand square kilometers.
The population of New Caledonia and the adjacent Loyalty Islands is more than 230 thousand people. By ethnic composition The population of the island is divided into Malanesians (Kanaks), Europeans (mainly immigrants from France) and other nations and nationalities. Kanaks predominate on the island - more than 42% of the total population and Europeans - about 37%. The official language is French, but about thirty other languages and dialects of the indigenous population are spoken on the island.
The administrative center of New Caledonia is the city of Noumea, located in the southwestern part of the island and having a population of more than 91 thousand inhabitants. You can also highlight two other towns in terms of importance, which are the centers of the island’s provinces - Kone and Ve.
The history of the island of New Caledonia begins in 1774, it was during this period that it was discovered by the British navigator James Cook, who named it by the ancient name of Scotland, where the navigator himself was from. In 1853, France declared the island its colonial possession and used it extensively long time to expel dangerous criminals. In 1946, France granted New Caledonia the status of a French overseas territory, which it still has today.
Wallis and Futuna(found in English sources Wallis and Futuna, but officially it sounds like Territory of Wallis and Futuna Islands) is a territorial union of the island group of two archipelagos Wallis (Uvea) and Futuna (Horn) in the South Pacific Ocean, belonging to France.
This territorial entity has a common maritime border dividing economic zones in the north with, in the east - with and Eastern (American) Samoa, in the southeast direction - with, in the south - with.
The formation area consists of two groups of islands of coral and volcanic origin: the Wallis archipelago, consisting of the large island of Uvea and a number of smaller islets and reefs, and the Futuna archipelago, consisting of the two larger islands of Futuna and Alofi and small coastal reefs. The landscape of the islands is mostly hilly, the coastline is replete with coral reefs. The total land area of the Wallis and Futuna territorial unit is just over 270 square kilometers.
Only two islands from this territorial association are considered inhabited - these are Futuna and Uvea, the total population is slightly more than 13 thousand people. In terms of national and ethnic composition, the overwhelming majority (96%) are Polynesians (Wallis and Futuans), while Europeans (mainly French people from New Caleidonia) account for a little more than 1% of the total population. The official language is French, but the majority of the population speaks languages and dialects of the Polynesian group.
The administrative center of the territorial entity Wallis and Futuna is the port town on the island of Uvea - Mata Utu (population approximately 1,100 people), others major cities not on the islands.
The islands of Futuna and Alofi were discovered by Dutch navigators William Schouten and Jacob Lemer in 1616, who named them the Horn Islands in honor of their hometown. In 1776, the island of Uvea was discovered by an English military expedition led by Samuel Wallis, who named this group of islands in his honor. In 1886, France established a protectorate over the islands. In 1917, all the islands of the two archipelagos were declared a colony of France with the administrative center of possession in New Caleidonia. The islands received the status of an overseas territory in 1961, and since 2003 they have been an overseas community of France.
French polynesia(in official sources it is listed as Overseas Community of France French Polynesia listen)) is a territorial entity that is part of the country of France and is located in the geographic center of the South Pacific Ocean. It has maritime borders according to the division of maritime economic zones in the western part (the economic zone is determined by the coastal waters of the Cook Islands, belonging to New Zealand), in the north-west direction - with Kiribati, in the south-east - with the waters of the Pitcairn Islands community.
The territory of French Polynesia consists of a number of archipelagos, predominantly of coral origin, consisting of coral reefs and atolls. It consists of the archipelagos of Tuamotu (with the adjacent Gambier Islands), Society and Marquesas Islands and the Tubuai Islands. The total land area of French Polynesia is just over 4 thousand square kilometers.
Many islands of the above archipelagos, even in this moment are uninhabited, the entire population, which is just over 280 thousand people, is concentrated on large strategically important islands. The ethnic composition of the islands is dominated by Polynesians, who make up about 78% of total number, the islands are also home to Chinese immigrants, who make up about 15%, as well as immigrants from Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The official language is French, but quite a lot of island residents speak Polynesian dialects.
The administrative center of French Polynesia is the port and resort town of Papaete, located on the very large island of this territorial entity - Tahiti. There are no other large and significant cities on the islands.
The history of French Polynesia for Europeans begins with the discovery of one of the islands of the Tuamotu archipelago by Magellan's expedition in 1521. This was followed by the discovery of the Marquesas Islands in 1595 by a Spanish expedition led by Alvaro Mendaña de Neira, in 1606 the island of Tahiti was discovered by a Spanish expedition under the command of Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, the Tubuai archipelago was discovered by J. Cook in 1777 during his second expedition, the most The Gambier Islands were the last to be discovered in the territory in 1797 by a British brig under the command of Wilson. At the beginning of 1842, France declared the island of Tahiti its protectorate, and by the end of the same year the same was done in relation to the Society Islands, Tuamotu, Tubuai and the Marquesas Islands. With the further expansion of France in this part of the Pacific Ocean in 1880, the protectorate was abolished and these territories began to be considered colonies of France. In the aftermath of World War II, at the beginning of 1946, the islands of French Polynesia received the status of overseas territories of France, and their inhabitants were recognized as French citizens. In 2004, French Polynesia became an Overseas Community of France, which remains the case to this day.
At the moment, the Pacific overseas territories of France have a more or less stable economy, which is based on the mining industry (New Caledonia) and tourism, which is the main source of income for the territories.
The current currency of the French Pacific Overseas Territories is French Pacific franc or, as they are also popularly called, CFP franc with the French abbreviation CFP, which stands for Colonies françaises du Pacifique (Pacific French Colonies), in lately The abbreviation CFP stands for Change Franc Pacifique, which in translation means Pacific exchange franc, in the literature there is also such a name for this currency as Polynesian franc(XPF code 953). The name of the territories' currency comes from the name of the ancient monetary unit of France, which, due to their political dependence on the metropolis, is quite understandable.
The CFP franc was introduced by decree of the French transitional government, which was dated September 26, 1945. Since in the post-war period the French franc, which was in circulation in the metropolis, was extremely unstable and unstable, it was decided to tie the introduced currency to the US dollar, which played a significant role in the Pacific region in the post-war period. By the end of 1949, a stable exchange rate of the CFP franc to the US dollar had been established, which was 50 francs per 1 US dollar. In 1948, the French government adopted a law, initially of a declarative nature, which deprived the Bank of Indochina of issuing functions in the French possessions in Oceania, but in fact the Bank of Indochina carried out an emission policy in this region until 1966-67 until its creation by law of December 22, 1966 The Emission Institute of the French Overseas Territories, which was finally organized and formed in April 1967. It was then that a series of banknotes and coins were issued, which are still in circulation today.
Now the CFP franc is tied to the euro by the principle of currency parity, and after its introduction in 2002, a rate was established that is still in effect today: approximately 8.4 euros per 1000 CFP francs.
1 French Pacific franc is divided into 100 centimes. Translated from French, “sentim” means a hundredth part of something. It is worth noting that the centime has not been used as a small change for a long time, due to its insignificant cost, but it has not been officially canceled by the issuing institute.
Currently, in all subjects of the Pacific overseas territories of France, banknotes of a single type are in circulation in denominations of 500 (five hundred), 1000 (one thousand), 5000 (five thousand) and 10,000 (ten thousand) CFP francs. Also in circulation are coins in denominations of 1 (one), 2 (two), 5 (five), 10 (ten), 20 (twenty), 50 (fifty) and 100 (one hundred) CFP francs.
CFP franc banknotes are distinguished by their original design and variegated colors, characteristic of the national ornaments of the inhabitants of Polynesia. The front and back sides of the banknotes are colorfully depicted local residents and them everyday life and the nature of the islands. An exception is the CFP five thousand franc banknote, which features a portrait of Buggenville with drawings of ships and sailing ships on both the obverse and reverse. The denomination of banknotes in digital format is depicted in the upper left and right corners of the bill, and in literal expression– in the center of the obverse of the bill with a slight shift to the left.
All CFP franc notes were printed at the factories of the French National Mint.
It is worth noting an interesting fact: the coins that are in circulation in New Caledonia, as well as Wallis and Futuna, differ in reverse design from the coins of French Polynesia, although they are accepted as legal tender equally in all subjects of the Pacific overseas territories of France. Thus, on the reverse of New Caledonian coins a bird is depicted, and on the obverse of Polynesian coins there are palm trees and memorable places islands. The obverse of all coins with denominations up to and including 10 francs is decorated with an image national symbol France – Marianne (Liberty) in full height with a torch and a horn of wealth, and on coins of higher denominations - her bas-relief profile. Almost all coins are made of aluminum, except for the one hundred franc coin, which is made of a nickel-bronze alloy.
In addition to the main circulating coins, each subject of these territories has issued a lot of commemorative and collection coins, which are also accepted as a means of payment. In particular, they are curious commemorative coins, issued by Wallis and Futuna Islands Territory.
All coins in circulation in the French Pacific Overseas Territories were and continue to be minted by the French National Mint.
Tourists and guests who arrive in any subject of the Pacific overseas territories of France can exchange their cash currency for local currency only in major cities, which are administrative centers where bank branches and exchange offices operate. Guests and tourists should look for them at airports, hotels and large supermarkets. The commission of banking institutions here for currency exchange is 5%.
Like any member country of the European Commonwealth, France also had its own currency before the advent of the pan-European monetary system. The French franc was the official currency of France before the introduction of European country euros, that is, until January 1, 1999. Together with the euro, it was in circulation until February 17, 2002.
The history 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 John II the Good in honor of his release from English captivity, into which he fell 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 abolished these coins and introduced new “golden Louis” and “eku” (from French “coat of arms”). Nevertheless, people continued to use the word “franc” to name the new coins.
Times of the French Revolution
At the end of the 18th century it began in France Great Revolution. In 1795, at the National Convention, the franc was again officially restored and designated 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, with the value of the gold franc being 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 Bank of France began to issue not only coins, but also paper banknotes.
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 products during the war, as well as the reconstruction of the country, which was carried out through an unjustifiably large issue of the money supply, led to inflation and a fall in the value of the French currency. Thus, the purchasing power of 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 losing the war did not strengthen the French economy.
In 1928, Raymond Puncare won the election and became Prime Minister of France. Starting this year, the Poincaré franc was introduced into circulation, which had a value of 20% of the gold franc of the early 20th century. From 1928 to 1936, the French monetary system returned to the gold standard, but the French currency continued to lose value. Subsequent Second World War, during which much of France was occupied by Germany, and the post-war period only worsened the situation to the point 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 the old banknotes, a new French franc was created, the value of which was estimated at 100 old francs. All old monetary units 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 most European countries. In 2002, when the country completely abandoned its currency and switched to the euro for good, the new French franc was worth less than 12.5% of its original value.
Many French people have a certain age category continued to carry out calculations of their monetary amounts in francs. During the period of the introduction of the euro, there was a lot of speculation in the exchange of old and new monetary units for the European currency. Starting from January 1, 1999, the French currency exchange rate was fixed: 6.56 francs gave 1 euro. To easily exchange these currencies, they use the following formula: they add exactly half to the amount of francs available, and then divide the resulting number by 10, resulting in an 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 survives in the French-ruled island territories of New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna. In these territories, the so-called Pacific franc is in force, which has the following value relative to the euro: 1000 francs = 8.38 euros.
French coins
Knowing what currency was in France before the adoption of the euro, we will give a description of the French franc coins, which have very beautiful mintage. 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, but instead the 50 centime banknote was used. The 10 franc coin began to be issued only in 1974. Since 1966, 5 centimes have also been produced with a new design and from a new metal (aluminum bronze). Until 1966, it was minted from stainless steel.
The design of almost all coins has an agricultural theme. On metal banknotes of various values you can see images of ears of wheat and a girl doing sowing work. Only the 10, 20 and 100 franc coins show a different theme. Thus, on 10 francs the Genius of Liberty is depicted, on 20 - Mont Saint-Michel, and on 100 - the Pantheon in Paris.
French banknotes
Before the advent of the euro, French banknotes with the following nominal values were in circulation in France: 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 francs. The brown 20 franc note features the famous French composer Claude Debussy, on the blue 50 note - French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the orange 100-franc note features a portrait of French artist Paul Cézanne, the red 200-franc note features the world-famous engineer Gustave Eiffel, and the green 500-franc note features scientists Marie and Pierre Curie.
France is a participating country. The monetary unit is the euro, equal to 100 euro cents.
Until January 1, 2002 in cash banknotes France had francs - equal to 100 centimes. The nominal series of the national currency of 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 the gold content of the franc being 0.290323 g of pure gold and the silver content of 4.5 g of pure silver.
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From 1865 to 1926, France headed the Latin Monetary Union, a convention concluded between France, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland and Greece, which provided for the functioning of a uniform monetary system in these countries on the basis of bimetallism, based on the official ratio between gold and silver that existed in France. The monetary units of the countries that were members 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 participating in the union could circulate as legal tender in any of these countries.
During the First World War and especially in post-war years There was a sharp depreciation of the French franc - by almost 90%. Based on the law of June 5, 1928, it gold content was reduced from 0.290323 to 0.05895 g of pure gold.
Since 1933, France led the so-called Golden Bloc, which, in addition to France, included Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy and Poland, which pledged to provide mutual assistance to maintain 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 French franc was set by the occupation authorities at a low level. After the liberation of France, from June 4 to June 15, 1945, all circulating banknotes with a face value of 50 francs and above were exchanged at a ratio of 1: 1 without limiting the amount.
Following the cessation of the US exchange of dollars for gold in France, on August 23, 1971, double currency market. The dual currency market remained in place 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 for deviations in the mutual exchange rates of member countries of the Common Market. Since March 13, 1979, France has been a member of the European Monetary System.
The obverse of the last series of banknotes before being replaced by the euro depicts prominent people of France, such as: 20 francs - Claude Debussy (1862-1918), French composer and musical critic; 50 francs - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900-1944), French writer, poet, pilot; 100 francs - Paul Cézanne (1839-1906), French artist, post-impressionist.
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200 francs - Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923), French engineer, designer of a tower in Paris, later named after him; 500 francs - Pierre (1859-1906) and Marie (1867-1934) Curie, husband and wife, physicists, early researchers of radioactivity.