france-banquedefrance

Banque de France - France National Central Bank

The Banque de France was created on 18 January 1800 by Napoléon Bonaparte, who was then First Consul, to foster renewed economic growth in the wake of the deep recession of the Revolutionary period. The new Bank's task was to issue bank notes payable to the bearer on sight in exchange for discounted commercial bills.

The Banque de France opened for business on 20 February 1800, even though all of its capital had not yet been paid up. On 14 April 1803, the new Bank received its first official charter granting it the exclusive right to issue paper money in Paris for fifteen years.

In the initial years, the Banque de France experienced a number of difficulties, including a crisis in the government's finances and a fall in its gold reserves that restricted the redemption of bank notes. As a result, Napoléon decided to implement reforms giving the government again more say in the management of the Bank. On 22 April 1806, a new law replaced the Central Committee with a Governor and two Deputy Governors. All three were appointed by the Emperor. Two years later, an imperial Decree dated 16 January 1808 set out the "Basic Statutes", which were to govern the Bank's operations until 1936. The Decree also provided for "discount offices " to be opened in other French towns where warranted by the growth of trade. Another Decree on 6 March 1808 authorized the Bank to purchase the former mansion of the Count of Toulouse in the rue de la Vrillière in Paris for its headquarters.