French wait in lines to exchange last francs

PARIS -- Six centuries after the first one was minted and a decade after they went out of circulation, the last French francs are being exchanged for euros, severing France's link to its former national currency.

However, the franc's end also comes as its replacement, the euro, suffers its worst crisis yet.

The Banque de France set a deadline of the close of business Friday for French savers to exchange francs.

The euro replaced the franc in January, 2002, but the central bank has continued to accept francs in exchange for euros.

A decade might seem to have been enough time to get to the bank, even for the worst procrastinators. But lines of last-minute holdouts formed all week outside Banque de France branches, the last place where francs could be swapped for new currency.

The French press has been filled with reminders about the looming deadline, after which the blue 50-franc bills with the drawing of The Little Prince standing alone on his planet will lose all but their sentimental value. But some heard about the deadline just in time.

"They were in a drawer and I found them a few days ago, and when I heard this morning that today was the last day to turn them in, I came this morning to do it," said Rene Huot, as he waited in line.

The central bank estimates that even after Friday's deadline, about half a billion euros worth of old franc notes will remain in the wild, unexchanged and henceforth worthless.

France is the second euro zone country to definitively phase out its old currency, after Italy stopped exchanging the lire in December. Finns have until the end of this month to turn in their last markkaa, while the Dutch get to hang onto their old guilders until 2032.

About half the euro zone countries have set no time limit.