The French government intends to block the establishment of Facebook Inc.'s Libra project in Europe due to concerns about consumer risk and governments' monetary sovereignty, London's The Guardian reported, citing Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire.
Le Maire said the concerns have to be addressed first before authorizing Libra in Europe, adding that Facebook's cryptocurrency project presents a risk of "a possible privatization of money."
The French official's comments, made during a Sept. 12 conference in Paris, come after Facebook reached out to the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, or FINMA, to assess how it would classify Libra under Swiss law.
For FINMA CEO Mark Branson, the Libra project can only be addressed through "international coordination and consultation with other supervisors and regulators," Reuters reported, quoting Branson's interview with Neue Zuercher Zeitung. "It is illusory to believe a single country can regulate and oversee a project like Libra on its own," the report quoted Branson as saying.
