France

Timetable

The transitional period started in January 1999, with banks offering the choice of electronic payments (direct debits, standing orders etc.), in either French Francs(FrF) or Euros(€).

The current situation

All shops are now required to display their prices in both FrF and €, it is already possible to pay in Euros, using either an existing credit card or a Euro-cheque book.

November 2001

Shops and businesses will be able to stock up on € currency, to be used as of the 1st January

Early December 2001

Banks and post offices start distributing "starter packs" of Euros for private individuals, which, once again, cannot be used until 1st January

1st January 2002

The Euro becomes the legal currency, all cheque/credit card transactions must be in Euros. However, it is still possible to pay a shopkeeper in French Francs (cash), but he must return the change in Euros.

17th February 2002

As from this date, it will be impossible to pay bills in French Francs, All transactions must be in Euros, and any remaining Francs should be exchanged at a bank

30th June 2002

As from this date, the French Banks and Post Offices will no longer be required to exchange French Francs.

Any remaining coins and notes must be exchanged by the "Banque de France"

This situation will last three years for coins, and ten for notes. After this time, the French Franc will be a thing of the past

Problems encountered during the transitional period

A great number of older electronic credit card terminals had to be changed so that they could accept both FrF and €. (The credit/debit cards themselves have not been affected

Another problem, which has occurred on several occasions, is the problem of mistaking one currency with the other. If you try to pay a bill in FrF with a Euro-Cheque book, you will end up paying 6.55957 times more than you wanted to. (The reverse is not likely to occur as most shopkeepers would pay attention that they were not being "ripped off".

The credit cards used in France are slightly different from the rest of the world: instead of signing when paying a bill, we just type our PIN Number into a machine, the only problem with this system is that if the shopkeeper makes the wrong choice of currency whilst entering the amount of the bill (one single press of the button), the wrong currency will be debited from the card, which can turn out to be expensive.

Current Attitudes

The general mood amongst the general public seems to be one of apathy, ignore it and it'll go away

Shopkeepers and businesses, however, have had a great deal of work to do: The only people to have gained from the changeover for the moment are accountants, re-organising company accounts

Small shopkeepers seem to have been the most affected. Often having to invest in expensive, new credit card equipment. The transitional period when both currencies will be in circulation is likely to be hardest for these commerces, with twice the number of coins and notes, a currency exchange to be carried out for each and every transaction, and double book-keeping. Not surprisingly, the small businesses, dealing mainly with cash, are the people dreading the changeover the most.

As a footnote, most of the French are expecting businesses to use the changeover to the Euro as an excuse to increase prices. There seems to be a sort of fatalistic acceptance of this fact amongst the majority of the population