Sol-Violette
The local currency of Toulouse, launched in May 2011 with support from the city. One sol equals one euro. The exchanged euros stay on deposit at Crédit Coopératif and Crédit Municipal de Toulouse while the sols circulate as paper coupons or through the eSol digital account. Sols lose 2% of their value each quarter if they sit unused, which keeps them moving. About 200 shops in the Toulouse area accept them.
France's pioneering municipal local currency, fifteen years live, with a real demurrage mechanism and inclusion built into its design. Fiat dependence and a small user base cap it.
M69 Score
Scored against the Money2069 Manifesto — see methodology. Higher = more aligned.
Detailed Rating Breakdown
Issuance Model3x4.0
Sols are issued only against euros deposited 1:1, so no debt and no discretionary supply. The quarterly 2% fonte gives the system a built-in contraction that most euro-parity currencies lack.
Spending Power Stability2x3.0
Euro parity backed by full reserves at two Toulouse banks under ESS law. Stability is entirely borrowed from the euro. The fonte targets velocity, not purchasing power.
Fiat Independence & Interoperability2x1.0
Euro unit of account, euro reserves, two French banks, French legal framework. Fully fiat-dependent.
Traction2x3.0
Fifteen years live, the second local currency created in France. About 200 accepting shops, roughly 500 regular users and 65,000 sols in circulation per 2021 press. Well covered by national media and research. Small user base holds the category down.
Sovereignty2.0
The association and its two partner banks control issuance and reserves. Custodial by construction and inside one national legal framework.
Governance3.0
Run by the Sol-Violette association within the Mouvement Sol network, with the CLAS approval committee vetting merchants. Formal for its size, but deliberation is not public.
Resilience3.0
Survived fifteen years, a founding-team handover around 2019 and Covid. Funding mixes memberships and municipal and regional subsidies, so it depends on continued public goodwill.
Inclusivity4.0
Built for inclusion from the start: the launch distributed sols to low-income families through social centres, and city and region still fund a food-assistance program in sols. The fonte actively works against hoarding. Territorial bounds are the main limit.