the tops and flops of the single European currency

What did the Euro bring to the French? “For travel, the euro has removed the exchange. (…) Europeans appreciate this simplicity. And for companies, those who sell their products in Europe, who export, the Euro has made their lives easier”, explains journalist François Beaudonnet, present on the 19/20 set, Friday December 31. Countries that use the euro in fact represent “a huge market of 340 million consumers”, continues the journalist.

While the euro has nearly died several times, the European Stability Mechanism has helped “with hundreds of billions”, countries like Greece, Spain and Portugal. While it has a past, the euro also has a future, and challenges. “For example, in the event of bankruptcy of a bank in a given country, it is always up to the State of this country to come to its aid, which risks exploding its debt”, explains the journalist. “For its 20th anniversary, the euro is therefore a success, but a fragile success”, concludes François Beaudonnet.