You’re digging through an old travel bag and find a crisp, colorful bill with a picture of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry on it. Or maybe it’s a heavy 10-franc coin with that classic "Sower" figure. It feels like real money. It looks like real money. But if you try to buy a croissant in a Parisian boulangerie with it today, you’re basically handing the baker a piece of scrap paper.
Does France still use francs? The short, slightly heartbreaking answer for nostalgia fans is no. France hasn't used the franc as its legal tender for over two decades.
It’s been all about the euro since 2002.
Honestly, the transition was a massive deal. We're talking about a currency that traced its roots back to 1360. King John II (Jean le Bon) minted the first ones to pay off his ransom to the English. To just wake up one day and decide it's gone? That’s a heavy cultural lift. Yet, if you walk through a French market today, you might still hear an older local grumble about the price of tomatoes in "francs." The ghost of the currency lingers, even if the cash itself is dead.
The Day the Franc Died (Legally Speaking)
Let’s look at the timeline because it wasn't an overnight "poof" and it's gone situation. The euro actually became the official currency for "book money"—think bank transfers and accounting—on January 1, 1999. But for the average person on the street, nothing changed until January 1, 2002.
That was the "Big Bang." For about seven weeks, France lived in a weird double-currency world. You could pay in francs and get change in euros. It was chaos. People were carrying around "euro-calculators" like they were high-tech gadgets. By February 17, 2002, the franc lost its status as legal tender.
It was over.
Can You Still Exchange Them?
This is where people usually get stuck. You found that stash in the attic—what now?
- The Bank of France (Banque de France): They stopped exchanging franc coins way back in 2005.
- Banknotes: You had a longer window for these. However, the ultimate deadline to swap franc bills for euros at the central bank passed on February 17, 2012.
- Current Status: Today, those bills have zero monetary value at any bank. You can't take them to the counter and get "real" money back.
Basically, if you have francs now, they are either souvenirs, collector's items, or very expensive bookmarks.
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Why the Franc Still Feels "Real" to Locals
You've got to understand the math to understand why the franc won't die in the French psyche. The exchange rate was fixed at $1 euro = 6.55957 francs$.
That is not a round number. It’s a psychological nightmare.
For years, people would multiply everything by six and a half to see if they were being ripped off. Even today, in 2026, you’ll find seniors who mentally convert the price of a coffee ($2.50) back to 16 francs just to see if it makes sense. It’s a lingering habit that proves how deeply the franc was woven into the French identity.
The Collector’s Market: Is Your Old Money Worth More?
Since you can't spend them, you might be wondering if that 500-franc "Pierre and Marie Curie" note is a goldmine. Generally, probably not. Millions of these were printed.
However, some specific coins and notes do fetch a premium from numismatists (coin collectors).
- The 10-franc "Mont Saint-Michel" coin: A beautiful tri-metallic coin. If it's in mint condition, it's worth more than its face value was.
- Error prints: Like any currency, a bill with a printing mistake is a winner.
- Specific years: Certain low-mintage years for the silver 5-franc coins (the "Semeuse") can be worth a decent amount to the right buyer.
Don't go quitting your day job, but it’s worth checking eBay or a local French brocante (flea market) to see what collectors are paying.
Where "Francs" Still Exist in the World
Here is a bit of a curveball. While France (the country in Europe) doesn't use the franc, the name hasn't vanished from the planet.
If you travel to French territories in the Pacific, like Tahiti or New Caledonia, you’ll be using the CFP Franc. It’s a totally different currency, but it’s still very much alive. Then there’s the CFA Franc used in many African nations. These are pegged to the euro now, but they keep the "franc" name as a legacy of the old colonial ties.
So, technically, "a franc" still exists. Just not "the French Franc."
Practical Advice for Your 2026 Trip to France
If you're heading to Paris or the Riviera soon, forget the paper. France is one of the most card-friendly places in the world.
Skip the cash entirely if you can. Almost every bakery, cafe, and newsstand now accepts "sans contact" (contactless) payments. Whether it's Apple Pay, Google Pay, or a tap-to-pay Visa, it's the standard. You really only need a few euro coins for the occasional public toilet or a very old-school market stall.
What to do with your old francs:
- Frame them: They are genuinely beautiful pieces of art. The "Little Prince" (Saint-Exupéry) 50-franc note is iconic.
- Check specialized sites: Websites like "Leftover Currency" sometimes buy obsolete notes for a fraction of their value, though the 2012 deadline killed most of that.
- Keep them for the grandkids: Explain that once upon a time, Europe wasn't just one big giant currency block.
The franc is a piece of history now. It’s part of the same shelf as the Eiffel Tower being built—a symbol of a specific era of French grandeur. It might be gone from the registers, but it’s definitely not forgotten in the culture.
To get the most out of your current collection, you should look up your specific bill's serial number on a collector database like Numista to see if you're sitting on a rare variant before you toss it in a scrap album.