Currency and the exchange rate
France > Basics > Money and costs > Currency and the exchange rate
On January 1, 2002, France was one of twelve European Union countries to change over to a single currency, the euro (€). The euro is divided into 100 cents (often referred to in France as centimes). There are seven euro notes – in denominations of 500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10, and 5 euros, each a different colour and size – and eight different coin denominations, including 2 and 1 euros, then 50, 20, 10, 5, 2, and 1 cents. Euro coins feature a common EU design on one face, but different country-specific designs on the other. No matter what the design, all euro coins and notes can be used in any of the twelve member states (Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and The Netherlands).At the time of writing, the exchange rate hovered around €1.60 to the pound, €1 to the US dollar, €0.66 to the Canadian dollar, €0.57 to the Australian dollar, and €0.50 to the New Zealand dollar. For the most up-to-date exchange rates, consult the Currency Converter website www.oanda.com.
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