French President Calls for Bitcoin Ban

Rage Commentary : Due to France's patriotic economic model, the French National Front wants to ban the use of digital currencies such as Bitcoin in Europe in order to consolidate the status of legal tender. Wall Street banks conveyed the concept of digital currency and cashless society at the 2016 World Davos Economic Forum, which was strongly condemned by the French National Front. The National Front ranked second in the presidential election, and it remains to be seen whether it can implement this policy.

Translation: Nicole

The leader of France’s main far-right party has called for a ban on the use of Bitcoin and other digital currencies in the European country.

In an article published last month by Marine Le Pen, the National Front and its candidates in the 2017 French presidential election condemned attempts by world leaders to create a world without fiat currencies and Wall Street banks to experiment with Bitcoin.

Le Pen wrote:

“Wall Street banks (JPMorgan Hall and Goldman Sachs) presented two concepts to countries and institutions such as the European Union at the 2016 World Economic Forum in Davos: virtual currencies or cryptocurrencies (most notably Bitcoin) and a cashless society.”

Le Pen said her party believes money is a "national public good, available to sovereign peoples" and that digital currencies would make it more difficult for world governments to manage national economies.

She wrote:

“Thus, in the context of a patriotic economic model, the National Front would prohibit the use of digital currencies such as Bitcoin in France.”

It remains to be seen whether the National Front, which has some influence on national legislation, can push for the implementation of this policy.

Recent polls show that the National Front received a large number of votes in the presidential election, with the first round of elections for next April ending in May, with the party coming second among the candidates.

Le Pen hopes to see French President Francois Hollande, who succeeded Nicolas Sarkozy in 2012, re-elected.