One buy, one sell: The Bank of France’s gold reserves in the United States have dropped to zero

Golden Ten Data reported on April 7 that, according to recent French media reports, between July 2025 and January 2026, the French central bank will sell the last batch of 129 tonnes of gold stored in the United States (approximately 5% of France’s total gold reserves), obtaining a capital gain of 12.8 billion euros. Currently, all of France’s gold reserves are stored in Paris. Since 2005, the French central bank has gradually been replacing old, non-standard gold bars with modern, internationally compliant ones. The bank did not choose to refine and transport the gold kept in the U.S., opting instead to sell it. Taking advantage of high gold prices, the French central bank made considerable profits through 26 transactions. The governor of the French central bank, Villeroy de Galhau, insisted that the decision to move French gold out of the United States was not politically motivated. Instead, it was based on the fact that the gold traded on the European market meets higher standards, and purchasing new gold is easier than refining existing reserves.