More than 2400 tons of gold are buried 27 meters deep in Paris in the safe of the Banque de France. This is the gold reserve of the French State, the fourth largest in the world.
This is not a new treasure hunt but the national gold reserve of France. 2436 tons of the precious metal are kept under the headquarters of the Banque de France, Paris, 27 meters deep. This gold constitutes the reserves of France, the fourth national stock behind the United States (8133 tons), Germany (3373 tons) and Italy (2451 tons), explains the Bank of France website.
A reserve of 2,436 tons of gold, the value of which amounted to nearly 144 billion euros on June 15, according to a press release from the Minister of the Economy. And this varies according to the evolution of the price of this precious metal. At the end of 2018, the value of this stock of gold was 87.8 billion euros.
This stock of state gold held in the Banque de France safe has not moved since 2009, the date of the last gold sales, the institution explained in 2019.
A safe of 10,000 square meters
This stock of gold composed of ingots of 12.5 kg each is well kept in a room of more than 10,000 square meters, the Underground. Built between 1924 and 1927, it has housed France’s gold reserves since 1927.
Access to the room is not easy. No bell at the entrance but several elevators and 4 turrets, steel cylinders weighing several tons, which must be rotated 90 to enter. Everything is doubled, to ensure that the trunk remains accessible even in the event of a technical problem, explained to the Parisian Arnaud Manas, who heads the historical heritage and archives department of the Banque de France.
Less than ten people are authorized to access the safe. In the Underground, you never enter it alone. It’s the principle of the four eyes, each one checks each other mutually, adds Arnaud Manas.
Should I invest in gold?