5 Euro (Vasco da Gama and the Belém Tower) – France

In 2019, France's currency situation was firmly anchored within the Eurozone framework, using the euro (€) as its sole legal tender. The broader monetary policy, including interest rates and quantitative easing, was set by the European Central Bank (ECB) under the presidency of Mario Draghi (and later Christine Lagarde). Domestically, the focus was less on currency sovereignty and more on managing economic performance within the single currency. Key concerns included persistently low inflation, which remained below the ECB's target, and the need for structural reforms to boost competitiveness, a point of frequent contention between Paris and Brussels.

The year saw significant domestic economic debates with currency implications. The "Gilets Jaunes" (Yellow Vests) protest movement, which began in late 2018, continued into 2019 and centered on purchasing power and economic inequality. While not a direct attack on the euro, the protests highlighted frustrations with the cost of living, which some critics linked to the constraints of Eurozone membership. Simultaneously, President Emmanuel Macron advocated for deeper Eurozone integration, including a common budget, to strengthen the currency union's resilience—a vision that faced resistance from more fiscally conservative member states like Germany.

Furthermore, 2019 was marked by underlying discussions about the euro's international role. Against the backdrop of growing geopolitical tensions and the Trump administration's policies, France, alongside Germany, renewed calls to bolster the euro as a strategic tool to reduce European dependence on the US dollar in energy and financial transactions. This push for "strategic autonomy" in currency affairs aimed to shield the EU from external financial shocks and sanctions, setting a longer-term agenda for the currency's future beyond the immediate economic indicators of the year.