France has one of the most powerful economies in the world and of course in Europe too. Nowadays, the national and official currency of France is the euro. Other countries that also use the euro are Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, Netherlands, Austria… France was one of the first countries to use the euro.
One euro is divided into 100 cents, and you´ll find eight different types of coins for the French currency: 1cts, 2cents, 5 cents, 10cents, 20 cents, 50 cents as well as 1euro and 2-euro coins. When talking about the French bank notes, you can find 7 different kinds: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 euros. An interesting fact about the French currency, is that every country of the European Union has its own kind of design for each coin. The French currency symbol is €.
What currency did France use before the Euro?
The former currency of France before the euro was called the French Franc. The French Franc was used in many other French colonies, like Algeria, Morocco, French west Africa… even now a days after the independence, some of those countries still use the Franc. French wasn´t the only country in Europe that used the Francs, you would also find it in Belgium, Luxembourg and even now a days Switzerland use the Franc. Of course, each franc was different and had a different value.
The French franc was the name of a gold coin in France from 1360 until 1380, later, from 1575 to 1641 it was the name of a silver coin also issued in France. Finally, it became the national currency from 1795 until 1999. You were still able to use it legally from 1999 to 2002. Until February of 2012, you were still able to change them for euros.
What is the old currency of France? History
The franc wasn´t the official currency until 1795, so before that, other types of currency were used in France. The first monetary unit in France was the Livre which was introduced in the VIII century. Later, it came the Écu, in the XIII century. During those dates, both were the “official” currency of France. When the value of the Écu and the Livre started go down, King Louis XIII came up with the Louis d’or and Louis d’argent. This two were the last official coins, before the franc finally arrived.
Currency exchange rate in France
The euro is one of the most traded currencies in the world, it ranks second after the US dollar. As of April 2020, 1 euro could be exchanged for 1.08 US dollars and for 0.87 British pounds.
This is the French currency exchange rate with other countries:
- French currency to Australian dollars: 1€ = 1,80 AUD
- French currency to Canadian dollars: 1€ = 1,53 CA
Might also interest you about France…
Currency of The French Overseas Territories
France is one of those countries that still has territories in the different continents. If you are traveling to any of those places, you might wonder if they have their own currency or if it is the same one as France mainland, the euro. Well, it changes depending on the territories, below you can find what each French colony uses.
- Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint-Martin, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint Pierre and Miquelon (Atlantic Ocean): Euro
- French Guiana currency: Euro
- Reunion island, Mayotte, the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (Indian Ocean): Euro
- French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna (Pacific Ocean): CFP franc