The Banque de France's printing and stationery works, located respectively in Chamalières and Vic-le-Comte in the Puy-de-Dôme, which together employ 1,000 people, are gradually taking over their activities.
The Chamalières site, which was shut down as soon as containment began, was partially restarted on 20 April with the aim of reaching 60% of its capacity this week, the daily reveals The Mountain .
Vincent Bonnier, the director of banknote manufacturing, told the newspaper that "?toutes work situations have been reviewed to ensure the security of personnel?". In addition to the application of barrier gestures, a temperature reading of the employees is carried out at the entrance of the site.
The Chamalières printing works produces around 20% of the banknotes in circulation in the euro area. When production stopped in mid-March, the Director had assured that there would be no shortage of banknotes, as the Banque de France had sufficient stock to meet demand for many weeks.
It was also noted during the confinement that there was a change in the habits of the French in the way they pay for their purchases. Although the Banque de France stipulated that there was no evidence of the possibility of the virus spreading via banknotes, withdrawals from cash dispensers fell sharply while contactless payments exploded. This is what the Syndicat National de la Banque et du Crédit (SNB) and the GIE Cartes Bancaires revealed: fewer withdrawals but higher amounts.
In this area as in others, it seems that the coronavirus epidemic has favoured digital and non-contact uses over paper. It remains to be seen whether the new habits will continue after deconfinement.
