Byline: Susan Bell In Paris
FRANCE bid farewell to the franc yesterday as the currency that served the country for more than six centuries, surviving the French Revolution, two world wars and five republics, was replaced definitively by the euro at midnight last night.
Breitling Watches Watches ReplicaThe event was marked by a three-minute ceremony hosted by the finance minister, Laurent Fabius, at his ultra-modern ministry. Some 800 guests, including the prime minister, Lionel Jospin, attended the son et lumiere show in the courtyard that featured giant projections of the franc alongside the new euro notes.
While the franc might have disappeared from wallets, it will not be a case of "out of Replica Marc Jacobs sight out of mind".
A survey run in yesterday's Journal du Dimanche suggested 44 per cent of French people believe it will take several months before they Fake Bvlgari can think in euros rather than francs. Three-quarters of those surveyed said they wanted prices to remain in both currencies. And although 45 per cent said they were pleased to have adopted the euro, 43 per cent admitted to missing francs.
Shopkeepers however, fed up with juggling two currencies since euro notes and coins became legal tender on 1 January, were relieved. "I'll be very happy when it goes," said Christian, a news agent in central Paris. "Two currencies is too much. People come to buy something, then they say they want to pay in francs and we have to convert it from euros. You lose time."
First minted in 1360 by King Jean le Bon after he was released from captivity by the English, the franc underwent many Replica Miu Miu Handbags changes and saw many wars, becoming a symbol of liberte, egalite, fraternite - the principles of the revolution inscribed on each coin.
The French have welcomed the euro, which they hope will be a stronger currency and more resistant to exchange rate fluctuations. The euro has weakened against the dollar Rado Replica Watches since its debut in 1999, but it has not suffered the large swings of some European currencies before monetary union.
Although the franc is now no longer legal tender, the French have until 30 June to exchange them for euros at banks.
Meanwhile a project to erect a monument to the franc in the Normandy town of Franqueville-Saint-Pierre is struggling to get off the ground. Olivier Bidou, president of the Association for a Memorial to the Franc, said his group had received promises of money to build the monument but little had come in so far.
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