Euro banknotes are shared across the euro area. France tells its own story on the national side of the coins, and several older and newer designs circulate together.
Paper money
Euro notes follow an easy architectural colour ladder - grey €5, red €10, blue €20, orange €50, green €100 and yellow €200 - wherever you spend them in Europe.
The euro banknote theme is imagined European architecture rather than real monuments: windows and gateways move from classical to modern styles, while bridges on the reverse suggest connection. Cash by Country artwork is an original, simplified interpretation and is not legal tender.
Eight values, several French chapters
Three women on the 2024 cents
Simone Veil appears on 10 cent, Josephine Baker on 20 cent and Marie Curie on 50 cent. Together they connect civil rights, resistance, European politics and scientific discovery to the money used for an ordinary baguette.
A motto inside a hexagon
The newer EUR 1 and 2 coins combine oak for strength and solidity with olive for peace. The branches form a tree of life, surrounded by Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité within the geometric outline associated with mainland France.
Shared notes, local change
A French EUR 20 note looks like the EUR 20 used in every euro destination. Use our illustrations for denomination and colour; with real cash, feel the raised print, find the watermark and security thread, then tilt for the hologram.