Lou Pélou
Lou Pélou is the local currency of Limousin, in central France, in circulation since 2015. One pélou equals one euro. The association Le Chemin Limousin issues it as paper notes, and members spend it with accepting businesses across Haute-Vienne. About 320 businesses take it as of early 2026.
Territorial euro-parity local currency, ten years old, real but shrinking merchant network; same class shape as la-pive and le-buzuk.
M69 Score
Scored against the Money2069 Manifesto — see methodology. Higher = more aligned.
Detailed Rating Breakdown
Issuance Model3x4.0
Debt-free paper issuance against euros deposited 1:1 by the association; no debt mechanism, supply grows and shrinks with member exchange and reconversion.
Spending Power Stability2x3.0
Stability is fully inherited from the euro peg; no own mechanism, tracks euro purchasing power exactly.
Fiat Independence & Interoperability2x1.0
Hard 1:1 euro peg, euro reserves, euro unit of account; the run-126 territorial euro-parity class reading (FI 1) applied unchanged.
Traction2x3.0
Ten years of continuous operation and about 320 accepting businesses (down from 900 pre-Covid per France Bleu, Feb 2026); users in the hundreds; declining trend, active recruitment and a 2026 general assembly.
Sovereignty2.0
Association-run with euro reserves in the banking system; French MLC legal framework; shutdown by the association or its bank is feasible.
Governance3.0
Standard French association governance: general assembly (March 2026, Saint-Junien), charter and internal rules published on the official site.
Resilience3.0
Survived Covid with a two-thirds merchant loss and still operates ten years in; volunteer-run with no independent funding base.
Inclusivity3.0
Open membership at low cost within the territory; no anti-concentration mechanism beyond the local-spend design.