TESTIMONIALS – This January 1, 2022, the euro celebrates its 20th anniversary. Some French people still convert with the franc, but more systematically.
“Until last year, I often converted my groceries into francs, especially fruit and vegetables. Today not really, the page is turned. With the Covid, we have other things in mind», Explains Françoise, an octogenarian from Hauts-de-France. As it is not long ago, 51% of French people still sometimes switch from the euro to the franc according to a study *. However, they are only 5% to declare to make a systematic conversion. “You have to move forward and live with the times!Abounds Françoise.
Read also20 years ago, the euro settled in the wallets
“This happens to me from time to time, usually with large purchases. It is still much less frequent than after 2002 [l’euro est arrivé dès 1999 sous forme scripturale]“, Estimates Philipe, 56, remembering the day when”Debussy” and “Saint-Exupery», Respectively the 20 and 50 franc notes, gave way to new blue and ocher banknotes, common to eleven countries.
“We were not a winner!”
“For fifteen years, I thought in francs. No doubt because I had the feeling that the cost of living was increasing. Today I know it is wrong. The euro is a strong currency», Bounces Pierre, Parisian of the same generation. “I don’t even ask myself the question anymore», Reacts Agnès, a second octogenarian. “I had a converter keychain at the time. All I can say is that we weren’t a winner!“
Read also20 years of the euro: has the single currency contributed to the rise in prices?
A feeling shared by 8 out of 10 French people interviewed as part of the YouGov survey for MoneyVox. Wrongly … According to INSEE calculations, between 2002 and 2016 consumer prices increased on average by 1.4% per year, significantly less than the 2.1% per year observed from 1986 to 2001 . “It is surely because of the reference frame: it is more complicated to divide by 6.56 [1 euro = 6,56 francs] than by 2 [1 euro = 1,95 deutsche mark, l’ancienne monnaie allemande]», Notes André, in his sixties. “Today, I don’t even know how much is 1 euro in francsElise quipped. But when you ask these few French people what words come to them spontaneously when they think of the franc, then “sovereignty” and “independenceMostly emergence.
* YouGov survey for MoneyVox conducted from December 15 to 16 with 1022 people.