I%26#39;m going to display my ignorance here, but sometimes we have no choice, especially when the topic is dear to our pocketbooks. It seems as though both euros and francs are in circulation in France, oui or non? If oui, which tender is preferable for Americans to exchange? And interestingly, I asked a question earlier that received no response. I thought surely people would have an opinion. The euro is currently dropping in value, presumably because of the votes against the European Union%26#39;s constitution. How long do you think it will continue drop? The time to buy is clearly before it swings back up again. What do you think?
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Francs are no longer the national currency, and haven%26#39;t been for some time. You must make all transactions, cash or credit, in euros.
Buy about 100 or so euros at the airport before departure, get the rest of what you will need from the many ATM%26#39;s available in Paris. Do notify your bank before you leave that you will be making such transactions.
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French Francs ceased to be legal tender for purchases in France on February 17, 2002. The Euro is now the ONLY accepted currency in France.
As for the downward fluctuation in the Euro/US dollar rate, the Euro may continue to fall relative to the dollar; it may stabilize at or around it%26#39;s current rate of exchange; or it may regain strength vs. the dollar. Instead of trying to figure out the movements of foreign exchange rates, why not just hop a %26#39;gambling bus%26#39; up to Foxwood and put it on Black..or Red. You stand about as much chance of %26#39;cashing in%26#39; there as you will at a Bureau de Change.
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I will add that some of your confusion might come from the rule that exists in France that requires that prices be posted both in fancs and in euro, but as noted francs are no longer in circulation.
People do not now generally even refer to francs, except in instances of major purchases, such as real estate or automobiles. With large purchases people seem more comfortable if they understand the value expressed in the same currency as they were formerly used to. In the case of real estate, older people often will make two conversions, first from euro to francs, then adding two decimal points to the franc total in order to correct for the 1960(?) dropping of two decimal points, when the %26quot;heavy%26quot; franc was introduced at a value of 1 new = 100 old. I believe people do this to come up with a true comparison of the change in property values over the years.
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My neighbor (who%26#39;s in his 80s) does the conversion for even small things. His ability to judge the value of a product/service is still calibrated in French francs. If the bill doesn%26#39;t state the price of a meal in both EUR and FF, he gets out his pad and paper and calculates.
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%26gt; How long do you think it will continue drop?
I know you usually get pretty good, direct answers here but currency speculation isn%26#39;t one of our strong points !
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Though if I was to guess I%26#39;d say that in about 4 weeks it%26#39;ll be back to the way it used to be due to U.S. trade and budget deficit worries.
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Difficult to answer as i%26#39;m not a finance specialist at all!!!!
I can just repeat what i%26#39;ve heard on radio this morning : that drop is purely mechanical, as the non to the referendum was anticipated by the financial markets before the vote itself, so no obvious reason for further decrease.
This being said, i don%26#39;t have any idea about that!!
As said by the other posters, the Franc has disappeared three years ago.
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Thank you all for enlightenment :). M.giroux, you are correct; having seen conversions to francs on occasion, I was confused. It will now be easy to ignore francs and focus on euros. KDKSAIL, like you I suspect, I think Foxwoods is good for concerts and fine food (in some restaurants), but I am not much of a gambler. If I put a dollar in a machine, I want a Coke to come out. My curiosity on the euro conversion rate was based on the suggestion of an email buddy who lives 7 months of the year in France. She suggested that I exchange dollars a couple of weeks ago because the rates were better. I%26#39;m not trading (speculating); just looking for the best rate since I will need to convert money for my trip. :)
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Why do you need to convert money for your trip before you leave? Nobody has yet devized a technique for the ordinary traveller to get a better exchange rate for cash than simply using an ATM card to access your checking account as you would at home.
For major purchases and hotel bills and the like you will get the best rate by using a credit card.
Just remember to notify your bank and credit card issuers that you will be travelling so that they do not block your cards because of the unusual activity. And ask your bank to raise your daily withdrawal limit temporarily.
Travelers checks are rapidly becoming a thing of the past, and you really don%26#39;t want to be carrying a huge wad of cash with you, especially when you could have got your Euros in smaller amounts from an ATM at a better rate.
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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt; My curiosity on the euro conversion rate was based on the suggestion of an email buddy who lives 7 months of the year in France. She suggested that I exchange dollars a couple of weeks ago because the rates were better. I%26#39;m not trading (speculating); just looking for the best rate since I will need to convert money for my trip%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;
Then like most amateurs, you%26#39;re friend%26#39;s advice would have been VERY wrong...since the Euro has been weakening steadily these past several weeks relative to the US dollar. Had you converted US $s several weeks ago you would have gotten FEWER Euros for your dollars...NOT more.
In any event, your best bet for the purchase of most goods and services will be using a major credit card (VISA, M/C) which are accepted with perhaps greater frequency in Europe than in the US and ATM or ATM debit cards for the purchase of many goods and services and ATM cash withdrawals. The absolte worst deal you can make is with Traveler%26#39;s Checks (which are no longer accepted at many places..even in Euro denominations.
But if you want to play the always exciting home-edition of %26#39;...ARBITRAGE--BOOM or BUST...%26#39;, then check out the historic exchange rates (FX History) of Euro vs US dollars ot the OANDA web site- http://www.oanda.com/convert/fxhistory
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