Overview
- Banque de France sold 129 tonnes of bullion that had been held at the New York Fed between July 2025 and January 2026 and bought the same amount of new, compliant bars in Europe for storage in Paris.
- The central bank kept its total reserves unchanged at about 2,437 tonnes but recorded an exceptional foreign‑exchange gain of €11 billion for 2025, rising to nearly €13 billion when early‑2026 trades are included.
- The windfall flipped a reported €2.9 billion loss into an €8.1 billion profit for 2025 as high gold prices boosted the value realized on the swap.
- Governor François Villeroy de Galhau said the move was a practical upgrade to bars that meet modern weight, purity, and certification rules and that higher‑standard gold is traded on a European market, not a political decision.
- The shift comes as central banks extend a near two‑year buying streak—adding 19 tonnes in February, led by Poland—while debate grows in Europe over repatriation; France still plans to upgrade another 134 tonnes by 2028.