France has quietly finished moving the last of its gold out of the US and turned the operation into a very profitable deal.
Between July 2025 and January 2026, the Banque de France sold 129 tonnes of older gold bars that were stored at the Federal Reserve in New York. It then bought the same amount of newer, better-quality gold bars on the European market and placed them in its secure vaults in Paris. The operation also underscores a broader trend among states seeking tighter control over strategic assets.
The result was a €12.8 billion profit (around $15 billion). This helped the central bank swing from a €7.7 billion loss in 2024 to an €8.1 billion net profit in 2025. France now holds all of its 2,437 tonnes of gold — the world’s fourth-largest stockpile — on its own soil. Gold, unlike foreign currency reserves, carries no counterparty risk and remains one of the ultimate stores of value in times of crisis.
The Banque de France announced the results of the operation on March 24, 2026. Officials say the move was purely technical: the old bars no longer met modern trading standards, so selling them at high prices and replacing them with newer ones in Europe made sense. What may look like a technical adjustment also reflects the growing importance of sovereignty over reserve management.
The governor of the Banque de France, François Villeroy de Galhau, repeated that this was “not a political decision”.
Still, the timing is interesting. The operation ended in January 2026, just a few weeks before the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February, sparking open conflict. At a minimum, the episode shows how even routine central-bank operations can acquire geopolitical significance.
As hostilities began, gold prices spiked on safe-haven buying. But then they fell sharply in March, one of the worst months for gold in years, as a stronger US dollar and rising inflation fears linked to higher oil prices pushed the metal down.
The recent two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran has brought a small rebound.
During the conflict, French President Emmanuel Macron has kept some distance from the US approach. He called the initial strikes “outside the framework of international law”, pushed strongly for a ceasefire, and welcomed the truce.
France has avoided direct military involvement and warned against attacks on Iranian energy sites that could make the oil shock even worse. In that sense, the move combines market opportunism with a more cautious reading of the international environment.
By completing the gold move right before the crisis, France now has full physical control over its reserves at a time when geopolitical tensions are high and trust in foreign custody can no longer be taken for granted. In an era of sanctions, wars and financial fragmentation, physical possession has regained strategic value.
It was a smart financial trade that could also be seen as quiet preparation for a more unstable world. France’s move may be read in Paris as prudence, even if officials insist it should not be interpreted politically.
