Even twenty years later, the feelings of the French remain the same.
For 80% of them, the changeover to the euro on January 1, 2002, pushed up prices and lowered their purchasing power.
This is what emerges from a recent YouGov poll for the MoneyVox * site.
An impression widely shared for two decades, and yet repeatedly contradicted by the inflation figures from INSEE.
To discover
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Although they still have a grudge against the euro on this subject, the French seem to have gotten used to the single currency and do not wish to go back.
A majority of those polled (56%) say they are opposed to the abolition of the euro, against 29% who are in favor.
After having for a long time made the exit of the euro her battle horse, the president of the National Rally (RN) Marine Le Pen herself officially renounced it in 2019, before the European elections.
Lack of love for small red rooms
On the other hand, the small red coins, of 1, 2 or 5 centimes, suffer from the disenchantment of the French.
About half of those polled want them to be removed.
A project under study at the level of the European Commission, but only for the 1 and 2 cent coins.
At the end of 2020, the European institution launched a vast public consultation on the subject, the results of which, published last May, were final.
Seven in ten Europeans (70%) believe that these small parts should be abandoned (67% among the French).
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The YouGov institute finally asked the French about a project announced at the beginning of the month by the European Central Bank (ECB): that of modifying the graphics of banknotes. If they had to choose a personality to appear on these tickets, the French cite, in order, Simone Veil (41%), Pierre and Marie Curie (40%) and Charles de Gaulle (34%). Even if the ECB decided, after a major consultation, to opt for the face of personalities, they would have to please all Europeans. The final decision must be taken before 2024, for the entry into circulation of the new banknotes expected not before 2025 or even 2026.
* YouGov survey for MoneyVox, carried out on 1022 people representative of the French national population aged 18 and over. The survey was carried out online, on the YouGov France proprietary panel from December 15 to 16, 2021.