Because EU stars are too unclear: France must melt 27 million coins The island state of Cape Verde is officially malaria-free

The French mint “La Monnaie de Paris” will probably have to melt down 27 million hastily produced 10, 20 and 50 cent coins. The coins, which have a new French design, should have been put into circulation from January this year, the newspaper “Les Échos” reported on Friday based on information from the mint.

The French authorities have already given the green light for the design, but the necessary approval from the European Commission is still pending. Production started early to present the new coins when Minister of Finance and Economy Bruno Le Maire visited the mint in early December.

Four days after production of the coins began, the design was rejected by Brussels. The objection was that the stars of the EU were not clearly visible enough on the side depicting Europe. The minister then canceled his visit to the state mint, which quickly submitted a new design to the EU. This was approved at the end of December, so production of the correct coins is still in full swing, according to people close to the coin. The unsuitable coins must now be recycled – the financial damage could amount to 700,000 to 1.2 million euros. (sda/awp/dpa)